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Biomedical subjects

L Martyn Klassen

Publications and source records attributed to L Martyn Klassen.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

NMR simulation analysis of statistical effects on quantifying cerebrovascular parameters.

Determining tissue structure and composition from the behavior of the NMR transverse relaxation during free induction decay and spin echo formation has seen significant advances in recent years. In particular, the ability to quantify cerebrovascular network parameters such as blood volume and deoxyhemoglobin concentration from the NMR signal dephasing has seen intense focus. Analytical models have been described, based on statistical averaging of randomly oriented cylinders in both the static and slow diffusion regimes. However, the error in estimates obtained from these models when applied to systems in which the statistical assumptions of many, randomly oriented perturbers are violated has not been systematically investigated. Using a deterministic simulation that can include diffusion, we find that the error in estimated venous blood volume fraction and deoxyhemoglobin concentration obtained using a static dephasing regime statistical model is inversely related to the square root of number of blood vessels. The most important implication of this is that the minimum imaging resolution for accurate deoxyhemoglobin and blood volume estimation is not bound by hardware limitations, but rather by the underlying tissue structure.

Algorithms↗

Robust automated shimming technique using arbitrary mapping acquisition parameters (RASTAMAP).

Quantitative MRI techniques as well as methods such as blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) imaging and in vivo spectroscopy require stringent optimization of magnetic field homogeneity, particularly when using high main magnetic fields. Automated shimming approaches require a method of measuring the main magnetic field, B(0), followed by adjusting the currents in resistive shim coils to maximize homogeneity. A robust automated shimming technique using arbitrary mapping acquisition parameters (RASTAMAP) using a 3D multiecho gradient echo sequence that measures B(0) with high precision was developed. Inherent compensation and postprocessing methods enable removal of artifacts due to hardware timing errors, gradient propagation delays, gradient amplifier asymmetry, and eddy currents. This allows field maps to be generated for any field of view, bandwidth, resolution, or acquisition orientation without custom tuning of sequence parameters. Field maps of an aqueous phantom show +/- 1 Hz variation with altered acquisition orientations and bandwidths. Subsequent fitting of measured shim coil field maps allows calculation of shim currents to produce optimum field homogeneity.

Echo-Planar Imaging↗

Transient hemodynamics during a breath hold challenge in a two part functional imaging study with simultaneous near-infrared spectroscopy in adult humans.

During a breath hold (BH) challenge, functional MR imaging using flow-sensitive alternating inversion recovery (FAIR) and blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) contrast was performed with simultaneous near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Time courses for the BOLD signal, cerebral blood flow (CBF), absolute deoxyhemoglobin (Hb) concentration, and relative concentration changes for total hemoglobin (HbT) were generated to (1) characterize the relationship between transient BOLD responses and the transient hemodynamic response, and (2) compare results from previous empirical animal experiments. During this mild hypercapnia task, the increase in the BOLD signal during the task indicated that an increase in CBF outweighed the competing effect of a volume-induced increase in Hb. After the task, the increase in the concentration of Hb mirrored the posttask undershoot in the BOLD and CBF data. Finally, we found a strong linear relationship between R(2)(*) and absolute Hb, except for outlier points in the Hb time series corresponding to the task cessation, which suggests there are differences in measurement sensitivity between BOLD and NIRS.

Adult↗

Influence of hypoxia on wavelength dependence of differential pathlength and near-infrared quantification.

Continuous wave near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) measurements of cardiac correlated changes in attenuation in the adult human head were computed using a Fourier analysis technique that eliminates the positive error bias associated with the magnitude of the Fourier coefficient. These attenuation changes were used to determine wavelength dependence of differential pathlength, DP(lambda), at four stages during progressive hypoxia (21, 17, 13 and 9% FIO2) in normal volunteers. The effects of incorporating DP(lambda) into NIRS algorithms to compute relative concentration changes and absolute concentration of oxyhaemoglobin and deoxyhaemoglobin are discussed. Because variations in DP(lambda) are restricted to wavelengths below 780 nm, absolute concentration calculations are influenced by hypoxia-induced changes while relative concentrations are unaffected. However, even accounting for changes in DP(lambda) did not allow computation of physiologically reasonable absolute concentrations of the haemoglobin species.

Adult↗