MRI - Olivia Harrison Flashcards
(47 cards)
dendrites
openings for other cells to communicate
cell body
powerhouse, motor of the cell, energy production
axon
neurones main way of talking to other cells in other parts of the brain
myelin
fatty substance that covers the axons
axon terminals
branch onto other dendrites
grey matter
grey part of the brain, in a ribbon around the edge of the brain where the cell body sit
white matter
axons make up white matter, long projection, myelin makes that projection fast
what is the main difference in human and animal brain
animals is much smoother their not as deep folds, don’t have as many folds
what is cerebrospinal fluid important for
cushioning the brain, delivering nutrients and taking away waste products
Where and what are the ventricles
the holes located in the middle of the brain
T1-weighted structural MRI
very common, can see white matter grey matter and CSF
provides information about the relaxation times of tissues. It is widely used in clinical practice to assess the structural characteristics of various organs and tissues.
T2-weighted structural MRI
colours are flipped, highlights CSF
provides information about the relaxation times of tissues. It is commonly used in clinical practice to evaluate the structural characteristics of various organs and tissues.
Proton Density structural MRI
provides information about the density or concentration of protons in tissues
what are the cons of getting a really good quality image
more time consuming, longer patient has to lie completely still
FLAIR
specific type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequence that is particularly useful in assessing certain brain pathologies. It is a T2-weighted sequence that suppresses the signal from fluids, such as cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), while maintaining good contrast for other tissues.
WM nulled
specific type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequence that is designed to suppress the signal from white matter tissue in the brain. It is often used in neuroimaging research to selectively visualize and study other brain structures or pathologies without the interference of white matter signals.
Double Inversion Recovery (DIR)
ability to provide improved contrast and better visualization of gray matter structures. It allows for enhanced differentiation between different brain tissues, including gray matter, white matter, and CSF. This can be particularly helpful in detecting subtle gray matter lesions, assessing brain atrophy, and studying neurodegenerative disorders.
higher resolution
what MRI are good for highlighting certain tissues, visualising lessons/pathologies or nuclei and measuring issue types indirectly via magnetic properties
FLAIR
WM nulled
Double Inversion Recovery (DIR)
Structural MRI
T1-weighted, T2-weighted and Proton Density
Structural MRI (2)
FLAIR, WM Mulled and Double Inversion Recovery (DIR)
Structural MRI (3)
SWI/QSI, MT and Veno/Angio-grams
Structural MRI Analysis
Quantify tissue volumes and structure shape and size
tissue types - GM,WM, CSF
cortical surfaces and thickness
sub-cortical structure and shape
local GM changes
Example of a research question based on structural MRI
how is the volume of grey matter related to age?
hypothesis: older individuals will have less grey matter as a proportion of head size
null hypothesis: older individuals will not demonstrate any differences in grey matter
Structural MRI limitations
- does not measure tissue type (GM,WM,CSF) directly
- the absolute values are not the same across scanners or sessions
- measurement is in the order of millimetres - thousands of underlying cells per 3-dimensional pixel
- does not always distinguish bone from air
- contrast can be poor/variable in subcortical (deep) brain regions
- a single sequence does not show all pathologies
- lots of artefacts and noise