Brain Characterization Using Normalized Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging

To present a method for generating reference maps of typical brain characteristics of groups of subjects using a novel combination of rapid quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging (qMRI) and brain normalization. The reference maps can be used to detect significant tissue differences in patients, both locally and globally. and PD of 31 healthy subjects in comparison to the oldest healthy subject and in comparison to an MS patient were calculated. Larger anatomical structures were characterized using a standard atlas. The vector sum of the normalized differences was used to show significant tissue differences. and higher PD values at the edges of the ventricular system as well as throughout the periventricular white matter, at the internal and external capsules and at each of the MS lesions.Brain normalization of rapid qMRI is a promising new method to generate reference maps of typical brain characteristics and to automatically detect deviating tissue properties in the brain