Biomedical subjects

Xavier Golay

Publications and source records attributed to Xavier Golay.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Model-free arterial spin labeling quantification approach for perfusion MRI.

In this work a model-free arterial spin labeling (ASL) quantification approach for measuring cerebral blood flow (CBF) and arterial blood volume (aBV) is proposed. The method is based on the acquisition of a train of multiple images following the labeling scheme. Perfusion is obtained using deconvolution in a manner similar to that of dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) MRI. Local arterial input functions (AIFs) can be estimated by subtracting two perfusion-weighted images acquired with and without crusher gradients, respectively. Furthermore, by knowing the duration of the bolus of tagged arterial blood, one can estimate the aBV on a voxel-by-voxel basis. The maximum of the residue function obtained from the deconvolution of the tissue curve by the AIF is a measure of CBF after scaling by the locally estimated aBV. This method provides averaged gray matter (GM) perfusion values of 38 +/- 2 ml/min/100 g and aBV of 0.93% +/- 0.06%. The average CBF value is 10% smaller than that obtained on the same data set using the standard general kinetic model (42 +/- 2 ml/min/100 g). Monte Carlo simulations were performed to compare this new methodology with parametric fitting by the conventional model.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2006

Amide proton transfer imaging of human brain tumors at 3T.

Amide proton transfer (APT) imaging is a technique in which the nuclear magnetization of water-exchangeable amide protons of endogenous mobile proteins and peptides in tissue is saturated, resulting in a signal intensity decrease of the free water. In this work, the first human APT data were acquired from 10 patients with brain tumors on a 3T whole-body clinical scanner and compared with T1- (T1w) and T2-weighted (T2w), fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), and diffusion images (fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC)). The APT-weighted images provided good contrast between tumor and edema. The effect of APT was enhanced by an approximate 4% change in the water signal intensity in tumor regions compared to edema and normal-appearing white matter (NAWM). These preliminary data from patients with brain tumors show that the APT is a unique contrast that can provide complementary information to standard clinical MRI measures.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2006

Dual vessel arterial spin labeling scheme for regional perfusion imaging.

Regional perfusion imaging (RPI) based on pulsed arterial spin labeling and angulated inversion slabs has been recently proposed. The technique allows mapping of individual brain perfusion territories of the major feeding arteries and could become a valuable clinical tool for evaluation of patients with cerebrovascular diseases. Here we propose a new labeling scheme for RPI where lateral and posterior circulations are labeled simultaneously. Two scans instead of three are sufficient to obtain the same perfusion territories as in the original approach, allowing for a 33% reduction in the total RPI protocol time. Moreover, the position of the inversion slabs with respect to vascular anatomy facilitates the planning and allows potentially better labeling efficiency. The new approach was tested on seven healthy volunteers and compared to the original labeling scheme. The results showed that the same perfusion territories and regional CBF values can be obtained.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2006

Accelerated parallel imaging for functional imaging of the human brain.

Accelerated parallel imaging (PI) techniques have recently been applied to functional imaging experiments of the human brain in order to improve the performance of commonly used single-shot techniques like echo-planar imaging (EPI). Potential benefits of PI-fMRI include the reduction of geometrical distortions due to off-resonance signals, the reduction of signal-loss in areas with substantial signal inhomogeneity, increases of the spatial and temporal resolution of the fMRI experiment and reduction of gradient acoustic noise. Although PI generally leads to a substantial decrease in image signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), its effect on the temporal stability of the signal, which ultimately determines fMRI performance, is only partially determined by image SNR. Therefore, the penalty for using PI is generally not as severe as the SNR reduction. The majority of problems related to single-shot techniques become more severe at an increased magnetic field strength, making PI an important tool in achieving the full potential of fMRI at high field.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2006

Arterial spin labeling: benefits and pitfalls of high magnetic field.

Arterial spin labeling (ASL) techniques are MR imaging methods designed to measure the endogenous perfusion signal coming from arterial blood by manipulation of its magnetization. These methods are based on the subtraction of two consecutively acquired images: one acquired after preparation of the arterial blood magnetization upstream to the area of interest, and the second without any manipulation of its arterial magnetization. The subtraction of both images provides information on the perfusion of the tissue present in the slice of interest. Because ASL is a very low SNR technique, the shift from 1.5 T to 3.0 T should be regarded as a great way to increase signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Furthermore, the concomitant increase in blood T(1) should improve the SNR of ASL further. Other effects related to poorer magnetic filed homogeneities and reduced T(2) relaxation times, however, will counterbalance both effects partially. In this article, the pros and cons of the use of ASL at high field are summarized, after a brief description of the major techniques used and their theoretical limitations. Finally, a summary of the few existing dedicated ASL perfusion techniques available are presented.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Retinotopic mapping in the human visual cortex using vascular space occupancy-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Recently, we introduced a new methodology, vascular space occupancy functional magnetic resonance imaging, which detects brain activation on the basis of blood volume changes in parenchymal microvasculature and may provide higher spatial specificity than the blood oxygenation level-dependent method. To study whether this technique can be used for advanced brain mapping applications, we performed retinotopic mapping using alternating horizontal and vertical wedges that stimulate different portions of the visual field. The results using vascular space occupancy functional magnetic resonance imaging showed clear boundaries for V1/V2/VP/V4v in the ventral areas and V1/V2/V3/V3A in the dorsal areas, similar to the maps obtained using blood oxygenation level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging. Vascular space occupancy functional magnetic resonance imaging is a useful addition to the other neuroimaging techniques. Disadvantages of vascular space occupancy functional magnetic resonance imaging include lower contrast-to-noise ratio (about 1/3 of that of blood oxygenation level-dependent method) and limited volume coverage (nine slices for TR=3 s).

Adult↗

PubMed2005

In vivo flow territory mapping of major brain feeding arteries.

The ability to visualize the perfusion territories of major feeding arteries to the brain is important for many clinical applications. Since the work of Duret in 1874 on vascularization of the brain, many textbooks and atlases have shown schematic drawings of the supply areas of the major cerebral arteries. Recent postmortem studies demonstrated that the variability of the cerebral vascular territories is significantly greater than previously assumed. The aim of the present study was to investigate in vivo, the variability of flow territories of major brain feeding arteries. Flow territory mapping of the anterior (internal carotid arteries) and posterior (basilar artery) circulation was performed in 115 (58 +/- 9 years of age) subjects with selective arterial spin labeling MRI. Flow territory maps for the entire population indicated significant variation in flow territories. However, when the subjects are further categorized into groups with a complete circle of Willis, with a missing A1 segment and with a unilateral or bilateral fetal-type posterior cerebral artery, the results showed considerably lower variation within groups. It is therefore concluded that, the variation observed from the entire population is mainly caused by anatomical variants of the circle of Willis. To relate focal brain lesions to underlying flow territories in individual cases, knowledge of the anatomy of the circle of Willis is essential.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

Non-invasive visualization of collateral blood flow patterns of the circle of Willis by dynamic MR angiography.

The circle of Willis plays an important role in the distribution of blood flow in the brain. To obtain dynamic information of the blood flow through the circle of Willis, a dynamic MRA technique based on arterial spin labeling (ASL) is introduced as a non-invasive technique. When the ASL labeling slab is restricted to a single artery, it is possible to visualize selectively the flow distribution of that specific artery. However, because of the decay of the label and the presence of noise it is difficult to extract functional information from these images. In the present study we propose three visualization and post-processing methods for the interpretation of these images. Firstly, the passage of labeled blood was corrected for decay of the label and hereafter shown as a movie. Secondly, by calculating the time of arrival at every location in the arteries of the circle of Willis, a 2D image was reconstructed summarizing the information of the movie. Finally, quantitative flow values were obtained by relating the arterial input function to the passage of labeled blood through a region of interest encompassing the vessel under investigation. Experiments in a circle of Willis phantom showed a high linear relation between measured flow and true flow, although the measured values were 10-15% lower than the true flow values. Measurements in healthy volunteers showed the potential to quantify the flow in all major arteries of the circle of Willis.

Circle of Willis↗

PubMed2005

Routine clinical brain MRI sequences for use at 3.0 Tesla.

PURPOSE: To establish image parameters for some routine clinical brain MRI pulse sequences at 3.0 T with the goal of maintaining, as much as possible, the well-characterized 1.5-T image contrast characteristics for daily clinical diagnosis, while benefiting from the increased signal to noise at higher field. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 10 healthy subjects were scanned on 1.5-T and 3.0-T systems for T(1) and T(2) relaxation time measurements of major gray and white matter structures. The relaxation times were subsequently used to determine 3.0-T acquisition parameters for spin-echo (SE), T(1)-weighted, fast spin echo (FSE) or turbo spin echo (TSE), T(2)-weighted, and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) pulse sequences that give image characteristics comparable to 1.5 T, to facilitate routine clinical diagnostics. Application of the routine clinical sequences was performed in 10 subjects, five normal subjects and five patients with various pathologies. RESULTS: T(1) and T(2) relaxation times were, respectively, 14% to 30% longer and 12% to 19% shorter at 3.0 T when compared to the values at 1.5 T, depending on the region evaluated. When using appropriate parameters, routine clinical images acquired at 3.0 T showed similar image characteristics to those obtained at 1.5 T, but with higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), which can be used to reduce the number of averages and scan times. Recommended imaging parameters for these sequences are provided. CONCLUSION: When parameters are adjusted for changes in relaxation rates, routine clinical scans at 3.0 T can provide similar image appearance as 1.5 T, but with superior image quality and/or increased speed.

Brain↗

PubMed2005

Pulsed star labeling of arterial regions (PULSAR): a robust regional perfusion technique for high field imaging.

Regional perfusion imaging (RPI) has recently been introduced as a potentially powerful technique to map the perfusion territories of patients with vascular diseases in a fully noninvasive manner. However, this technique suffers from the problems of the transfer insensitive labeling technique upon which it is based. In particular, RPI is very sensitive to magnetic field inhomogeneities, and therefore the definition of the labeled bolus can deteriorate at field strength higher than 1.5 T. Furthermore, the slab-selective triple-pulse postsaturation sequence used originally will also be impaired due to the same problem, rendering RPI unusable at higher field. In this work, an adiabatic-based signal targeting with alternating radiofrequency pulses sequence is proposed as a labeling scheme to solve the problems related to variations in local magnetic field, together with an improved four-pulse water suppression enhanced through T(1) effects technique as a presaturation scheme.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2005

Macroscopic orientation component analysis of brain white matter and thalamus based on diffusion tensor imaging.

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can delineate white matter architecture based on fiber orientation. The purpose of this paper is to use the orientation information contained in DTI to study axonal organization of the brain both macroscopically and quantitatively. After performing gray/white matter segmentation using a fractional anisotropy threshold, the white matter can be further decomposed into components composed of tracts oriented along three orthogonal anatomic axes (right-left, superior-inferior, and anterior-posterior). For each component, the volume and MR parameters were quantified. To characterize the axonal architecture of the brain, this technique was applied to the entire brain using a Talairach-based brain parcellation method and to the thalamus by manual segmentation. Reproducibility of this analysis tool was examined by repeating the measurements in the same subject, and individual differences were appreciated from the data acquired in 11 healthy volunteers. Based on the results from these preliminary data sets, this new analysis technique is expected to be an effective tool for macroscopic white matter characterization.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Magnetization transfer weighted imaging in the upper cervical spinal cord using cerebrospinal fluid as intersubject normalization reference (MTCSF imaging).

The magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) is a reliable measure of MT effects because it employs an internal standard that allows quantitative comparison between subjects, independent of other contrasts, coil loading, and coil sensitivity profiles. However, at very high spatial resolution in the spinal cord at 1.5 T, the use of MTR quantification has been hampered by low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and acute sensitivity to motion. Here, the suitability of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) as an alternative inter-subject MT signal intensity reference for the spine is evaluated. Contrary to MTR, this so-called MTCSF internal standard does not remove interfering T(1), T(2), and spin density contrast and is not expected to be able to discriminate between myelination and inflammation effects. However, it can detect initial changes in myelination when signal alterations are not yet detectable by conventional MRI. As a first example, this is demonstrated for the noninflammatory spinal cord white matter disease adrenomyeloneuropathy.

Adrenoleukodystrophy↗

PubMed2005

Simultaneous water and lipid suppression for in vivo brain spectroscopy in humans.

A method to achieve simultaneous water and lipid suppression is described. The key feature of the new dual suppression technique is the use of the well-known hyperbolic secant (HS) waveform as a 90 degrees saturation pulse. Two HS pulses with opposite frequency offsets are employed either sequentially or simultaneously to saturate resonance frequencies corresponding to water and lipid, while leaving the target spins untouched. The excitation bandwidth is controlled by the frequency sweep and offset of each pulse, while varying the pulse length controls the transition bandwidth. An example of the use of the dual saturation method in in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging of the human brain is presented.

Body Water↗

PubMed2005

Coordination of voluntary and stimulus-driven attentional control in human cortex.

Visual attention may be voluntarily directed to particular locations or features (voluntary control), or it may be captured by salient stimuli, such as the abrupt appearance of a new perceptual object (stimulus-driven control). Most often, however, the deployment of attention is the result of a dynamic interplay between voluntary attentional control settings (e.g., based on prior knowledge about a target's location or color) and the degree to which stimuli in the visual scene match these voluntary control settings. Consequently, nontarget items in the scene that share a defining feature with the target of visual search can capture attention, a phenomenon termed contingent attentional capture. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to show that attentional capture by target-colored distractors is accompanied by increased cortical activity in corresponding regions of retinotopically organized visual cortex. Concurrent activation in the temporoparietal junction and ventral frontal cortex suggests that these regions coordinate voluntary and stimulus-driven attentional control settings to determine which stimuli effectively compete for attention.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Altered flow territories after extracranial-intracranial bypass surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To prevent stroke after carotid sacrifice and to augment cerebral perfusion in patients with internal carotid artery (ICA) occlusion, high-flow extracranial-intracranial (EC-IC) bypass operations are performed. Although the function and efficacy of the bypass is monitored during surgery, the postoperative flow through the bypass is significantly lower than the flow in the contralateral ICA. Thus far, it is unknown whether decreased bypass flow is caused by a low tissue perfusion or by a relatively small flow territory. METHODS: Seven patients, four with an atherosclerotic ICA occlusion and three with a giant aneurysm of the ICA, were investigated; each underwent a high-flow EC-IC bypass and permanent occlusion of the ICA. Cerebral blood flow was measured with arterial spin labeling perfusion magnetic resonance imaging. Separate flow territory mapping of the EC-IC bypass, contralateral ICA, and posterior circulation was performed with selective arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance imaging. RESULTS: No significant difference was found in cerebral blood flow between the hemisphere ipsilateral to the EC-IC bypass (70.9 +/- 11.3 ml/min/100 g tissue), contralateral to the EC-IC bypass (71.9 +/- 14.3 ml/min/100 g tissue), and comparable findings in 50 healthy control participants (69.1 +/- 17.5 ml/min/100 g tissue). Paired analysis of the individual flow territories demonstrated a 15% volume reduction (P = 0.018) in flow territory of the EC-IC bypass compared with the contralateral side. CONCLUSION: In the present study, we demonstrate the feasibility of selective arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance imaging for clinical follow-up of patients after high-flow EC/IC bypass surgery, providing both information on flow territories and the level of regional cerebral blood flow.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Functional magnetic resonance imaging in adult craniopagus for presurgical evaluation.

Cranially conjoined twins are rare and pose unique challenges in the preoperative evaluation of cerebral language function. The authors report on their experience in the functional magnetic resonance (fMR) imaging evaluation of adult craniopagus (temporoparietooccipital fusion) to evaluate hemispheric language dominance and the eloquent language areas in the preoperative planning stages. Conventional clinical imaging hardware originally designed for individuals was adapted and tailored for use in the twins. They were assigned a selection of language tasks while undergoing fMR imaging. Significant blood oxygen level-dependent activations were detected in the main language regions in each twin, that is, the inferior frontal gyrus (around the Broca area), the middle and superior temporal lobes (around the Wernicke area) together with the inferior parietal lobe, and the middle and superior frontal gyri. Overall, the right-handed twin was strongly left lateralized for language, whereas the left-handed twin showed more bilateral activation during language tasks. Noninvasive language mapping with the aid of fMR imaging has been demonstrated for the first time in total craniopagus.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Internal carotid artery occlusion assessed at pulsed arterial spin-labeling perfusion MR imaging at multiple delay times.

Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with pulsed arterial spin labeling (ASL) was performed at six different inversion times in nine patients with internal carotid artery (ICA) occlusion and in 11 control subjects. The hospital's commission on scientific research on human subjects approved the study protocol, and all study subjects gave informed consent. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) in the middle cerebral artery territories was calculated from the combined signal intensities measured with ASL at the multiple inversion times. In the patients with ICA occlusion, mean CBF values were decreased in the gray matter of the hemisphere ipsilateral to the occlusion, as compared with values in the gray matter of the contralateral hemisphere (P < .05) and with values in the gray matter of the control subjects (P < .05). Quantification of CBF with ASL at multiple inversion times can compensate for the blood transit delays in patients with ICA occlusion.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Control of object-based attention in human cortex.

Visual attention is a mechanism by which observers select relevant or important information from the current visual array. Previous investigations have focused primarily on the ability to select a region of space for further visual analysis. These studies have revealed a distributed frontoparietal circuit that is responsible for the control of spatial attention. However, vision must ultimately represent objects and in real scenes objects often overlap spatially; thus attention must be capable of selecting objects and their properties nonspatially. Little is known about the neural basis of object-based attentional control. In two experiments, human observers shifted attention between spatially superimposed faces and houses. Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) revealed attentional modulation of activity in face- and house-selective cortical regions. Posterior parietal and frontal regions were transiently active when attention was shifted between spatially superimposed perceptual objects. The timecourse of activity provides insight into the functional role that these brain regions play in attentional control processes.

Acoustic Stimulation↗