The Use of Cerebralspinal Fluid as Inter-subject Normalization Reference Standard for Magnetization Transfer Weighted Imaging

This invention describes the use of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) as an inter-subject reference standard for magnetization transfer (MT) imaging. This is useful in cases where the standard MT referencing approach (MT ratio or MTR) does not work properly, for instance as demonstrated for the spinal cord in the attached paper, where intra-slice motions can not be corrected for between the MT weighted scan and the reference scan. Even though the contrast in this so-called MTCSF approach contains T1, T2 and spin density components, it allows detection of white matter changes (e.g. due to myelination changes) before any of these parameters is altered, as is demonstrated for the spinal cord in Adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN) patients in the attached paper. The method is expected to be useful as part of a clinical diagnostic procedure. Description (Set) Proposed Use (Set) This invention can be implemented as a clinical diagnostic procedure on commercial MRI machines. MT changes may occur early in many disorders, especially in myelination disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS), leukodystrophies, ALS, etc. It may also have potential for other diseases, including cancer, and may be useful to assess aging.

Inventor(s): Smith, Seth

Type of Offer: Licensing



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