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Biomedical subjects

P Mansfield

Publications and source records attributed to P Mansfield.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Active acoustic screening: reduction of noise in gradient coils by Lorentz force balancing.

We have designed and constructed a quiet gradient set with restricted access for the combined purposes of evaluating the principles of active acoustic screening, recently introduced by Mansfield, Glover, and Bowtell, and for EPI studies of the head at 3.0 T. The design utilizes the return paths of the conductors in a closed arc loop arrangement to eliminate net Lorentz forces thereby attenuating acoustic noise especially at low frequency. This design should significantly reduce the dangers to patients of high noise levels, especially in high field magnetic resonance imaging systems.

Acoustics

NMR microscopy of single neurons using spin echo and line narrowed 2DFT imaging.

NMR microimages of single neural cells were acquired at 500 MHz using a conventional spin echo pulse sequence and a line-narrowing sequence that eliminates susceptibility effects. The data show that any contribution to the measured T2 relaxation rate arising from diffusion in local field inhomogeneities using spin echo sequences at high fields and high spatial resolution is relatively small. We conclude that the measured T2 difference between the nucleus and cytoplasm in these cells represents primarily a true T2 relaxation effect arising from the interactions of water with macromolecules in the two compartments and does not result from microsusceptibility differences. These observations have implications regarding water compartmentation in single cells and the interpretation of the MR characteristics of tissues in vivo.

Animals

Quiet transverse gradient coils: Lorentz force balanced designs using geometrical similitude.

The principle of active acoustic screening, recently introduced by Mansfield et al. (1) to reduce acoustic noise in gradient coils for MRI, is applied to the design of transverse distributed gradient coils of the fingerprint design. The results indicate that for complete Lorentz force balancing and for exact satisfaction of Kirchoff's law, it is necessary to have a coil system wound on four cylinders if full active magnetic screening of the assembly is required.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Measurement of fetal liver, brain and placental volumes with echo-planar magnetic resonance imaging.

OBJECTIVE: To quantify accurately in utero fetal liver, brain and placental volumes using echo planar imaging, and to assess whether the technique has the potential to enhance intrauterine fetal assessment. DESIGN: Thirty-two singleton, complicated pregnancies were scanned using echo planar imaging, a form of magnetic resonance imaging. Pregnancies were subdivided on the basis of whether the fetus was found subsequently to have an individualised birthweight ratio above (n = 21) or below (n = 11) the 10th centile. Comparisons of the organ volumes of these two groups were made. RESULTS: The first quantitative in utero measurement of fetal liver volume showed a linear relation between liver volume and gestational age in fetuses where the individualised birthweight ratio was above the 10th centile (the normal growth group). Ten of the 11 liver volume measurements of fetuses subsequently found to have an individualised birthweight ratio below the 10th centile fell on or outside the 95% confidence limits established for the normal growth group. In contrast, no such differences were demonstrated when the brain and placental volumes were considered, with 10 of the 11 brain measurements and all of the 11 placental measurements falling within the 95% confidence limits of the normal growth group. CONCLUSIONS: A single measurement of fetal liver volume using echo planar imaging enabled accurate identification of fetuses subsequently found to have individualised birthweight ratios below the 10th centile. If these findings are repeated in larger, more representative studies, this suggests that the technique has the potential to contribute to intrauterine fetal assessment.

Adult

An assessment of the intrauterine sound intensity level during obstetric echo-planar magnetic resonance imaging.

In order to assess the sound level experienced by the fetal ear during obstetric magnetic resonance imaging, a fluid filled stomach was used as an experimental model of the gravid uterus. A better than 30 dB attenuation in intensity was recorded across the frequency band of interest for all patient orientations. This was enough to reduce acoustic sound pressure from a level close to the instantaneous damage threshold (120 dB), to an acceptable level (< 90 dB). Direct mechanical coupling through the patient table was also shown to increase uterine sound pressure levels by as much as 10 dB. Much higher peak pressures could be obtained by tapping of abdomen with the fingers.

Acoustics

Dynamic studies of gadolinium uptake in brain tumors using inversion-recovery echo-planar imaging.

Echo-planar imaging has been used to observe the dynamics of Gd-DTPA uptake in brain tumors. It has been possible to examine both vascular uptake and diffusion across the blood-brain barrier in a single experiment, by using the IR-MBEST echo-planar sequence which combines a high temporal resolution (approximately 3 s) with strong T1 weighting. To model the uptake it is necessary to know the arterial concentration of Gd-DTPA; in this study the signal in the sagittal sinus was measured to avoid the need to take repeated blood samples. The time constant for transfer across the blood-brain barrier was measured to be between 20 and 1050 s for different tumors. The results of the modeling correlated with the results of other assessments of tumor vascularity.

Adult

Magnetic resonance imaging: applications of novel methods in studies of porous media.

NMR imaging is finding broad applications in nonbiological areas including the study of fluid flow and fluid ingress in porous media. The porous media include at the one end mineral rocks and various building materials through various solid plastic materials to foodstuffs at the other end of the spectrum. The fluids within these various media range from crude oil and water mixtures, and water itself, to a range of organic solvents in plastic materials. This paper is concerned with the flow and ingress of water through Bentheimer sandstone and Ninian reservoir specimens, and also in solid nylon blocks.

Echo-Planar Imaging

Echo-planar imaging: magnetic resonance imaging in a fraction of a second.

Progress has recently been made in implementing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques that can be used to obtain images in a fraction of a second rather than in minutes. Echo-planar imaging (EPI) uses only one nuclear spin excitation per image and lends itself to a variety of critical medical and scientific applications. Among these are evaluation of cardiac function in real time, mapping of water diffusion and temperature in tissue, mapping of organ blood pool and perfusion, functional imaging of the central nervous system, depiction of blood and cerebrospinal fluid flow dynamics, and movie imaging of the mobile fetus in utero. Through shortened patient examination times, higher patient throughput, and lower cost per MRI examination, EPI may become a powerful tool for early diagnosis of some common and potentially treatable diseases such as ischemic heart disease, stroke, and cancer.

Diffusion

RF cavity resonator and split-resonator designs.

A simple high-pass cavity resonator has been constructed for NMR imaging use at 500 MHz. A capacitative circuit arrangement is used to drive the device. A novel split-coil or half-resonator design is also introduced for lower-frequency operation with applications in whole-body medical imaging.

Equipment Design

Gradient coil design using active magnetic screening.

Active magnetic screening allows the production of gradient coils which are magnetically decoupled from their surroundings. Using such coils the eddy current problems associated with the generation of large, rapidly switched gradients within the confines of a superconductive magnet can be eliminated. In this paper the principles of active screening are outlined and some of the methods of designing screened gradient coils are described. Problems relating to the construction of screened gradient coils are also addressed.

Equipment Design

Real-time flow measurements using echo-planar imaging.

The ultra-high-speed echo-planar imaging (EPI) method is combined with velocity encoding prior to EPI read-out, thereby allowing real-time measurement of flow. Results of EPI flow measurement experiments are presented on phantoms and human volunteers.

Blood Flow Velocity

Dynamic imaging of contrast enhancement in brain tumors.

Gadolinium-DTPA has been shown to be a good probe for demonstrating defects in the blood-brain barrier, but it has a rapid rate of elimination so that peak circulating levels are short-lived. In this study ultrafast echo-planar imaging has been used in combination with a bolus injection of gadolinium-DTPA to evaluate perfusion within brain tumors and to assess the degree of disruption of the blood-brain barrier. The temporal profile of enhancement may allow discrimination between different tumor types.

Blood-Brain Barrier

Clinical experience with contrast enhanced echo-planar imaging of the brain.

The overall effects of intravenous Gd-DTPA on tissue signal in intracranial tumors are complex depending on dose, time of administration, pulse sequence, and tissue structure. Ultrahigh speed EPI permits the kinetics of tissue enhancement in intracranial tumors to be studied during the "wash-in" equilibrium and "wash-out" phases. Ongoing studies employing dynamic scanning have shown it to be a valuable adjunct to a morphological study of tumors, providing an assessment of vascularity which is important in planning resection; and demonstrating areas with maximal breakdown of the blood-brain barrier which are most suitable for stereotactic biopsy. There are grounds for anticipating that the analysis of the temporal profile of enhancement may allow discrimination between different tumor types and provide information on factors which relate to the malignant potential of a single type.

Brain Neoplasms

Observation of cerebrospinal fluid flow with echo-planar magnetic resonance imaging.

Using echo-planar (EP) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow patterns have been demonstrated in the normal subject and patients with pathological conditions including communicating hydrocephalus, aqueduct stenosis and syringohydromyelia. Snap-shot imaging times of 128 ms allow detailed demonstration of transient intraventricular CSF flow patterns, which is not possible with conventional MRI. The potential of EPI as a method for qualitative and quantitative assessment of CSF dynamics is illustrated.

Cerebral Aqueduct

Variables influencing tumor uptake of anti-melanoma monoclonal antibodies radioiodinated using para-iodobenzoyl (PIB) conjugate.

Tumor uptake was examined with respect to antigen expression, time-dependent biodistribution, dose of Mab injected, tumor size, and tumor site (i.e., subcutaneous versus lung or liver metastases). NR-ML-05, 96.5, and P94 showed significantly greater uptake in subcutaneous tumors than CL207 and 5.1 (p less than 0.05). NR-ML-05 had a significantly higher tumor uptake at 24 hr (11.9 +/- 0.51) than at 72 hr (4.0 +/- 0.37) or 144 hr (2.7 +/- 0.84) after injection (p less than 0.001). The other four Mabs had similar tumor distribution at all three time points. The tumor uptake of four Mabs (96.5, P94, CL207. 5.1) differed with respect to in vitro versus in vivo binding to tumor, tumor type, dose of Mab, and tumor site (subcutaneous versus metastases). In contrast, NR-ML-05 demonstrated consistent uptake in tumors independent of the above parameters. These data suggest that certain host parameters can influence in vivo tumor targeting depending on characteristics of each Mab studied.

Animals

Echo-planar imaging of the human fetus in utero.

We have demonstrated that echo-planar imaging can be used to produce high-quality snapshot images of the human fetus in utero in a fraction of a second. These images are free of motional artifact or blurring and allow detailed depiction of fetal structures in normal and pathological pregnancies.

Fetal Heart

Inversion-recovery echo-planar imaging (IR-EPI) at 0.5 T.

Echo-planar imaging is used in combination with a spin preparation phase to produce a T1-weighted image. The small additional time penalty in this procedure does not detract significantly from the ultrahigh-speed imaging capability of EPI, allowing a rapid real-time optimization of tissue parameters in the image display. Results obtained on a head demonstrate this technique.

Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy

High-speed multislice T1 mapping using inversion-recovery echo-planar imaging.

Tissue contrast in MR images is a strong function of spin-lattice (T1) and spin-spin (T2) relaxation times. However, the T1 relaxation time is rarely quantified because of the long scan time required to produce an accurate T1 map of the subject. In a standard 2D FT technique, this procedure may take up to 30 min. Modifications of the echo-planar imaging (EPI) technique which incorporate the principle of inversion recovery (IR) enable multislice T1 maps to be produced in total scan times varying from a few seconds up to a minute. Using IR-EPI, rapid quantification of T1 values may thus lead to better discrimination between tissue types in an acceptable scan time.

Fourier Analysis