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Updated: Jun 14, 2026
Noninvasive In Vivo Small Animal MRI and MRS: Basic Experimental Procedures
Published on: October 20, 2009
Quantitative proton MRI and MRS of the rat brain with a 3T clinical MR scanner
M Aradi1, R Steier1, P Bukovics1
1Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pécs, Rét u. 2, 7624 Pécs, Hungary; Pécs Diagnostic Institute, University of Pécs, 7624 Pécs, Hungary.
Objective:
To demonstrate the capability of a clinical 3T human scanner in performing quantitative MR experiments in the rat brain.
Material And Methods:
In vivo, measurements on eight Wistar rats were performed. Longitudinal relaxation time (T1) and transverse relaxation time (T2) measurements were set up at a spatial resolution of 0.3×0.3×1mm(3). Diffusion-weighted imaging was also applied and the evaluation included both mono- and biexponential approaches (b-value up to 6000s/mm(2)). Besides quantitative imaging, the rat brain was also scanned at a microscopic resolution of 130×130×130μm(3). Quantitative proton spectroscopy was also carried out on the rat brain with water as internal reference.
Results:
T1 and T2 for the rat brain cortex were 1272±85ms and 75±2ms, respectively. Diffusion-weighted imaging yielded accurate diffusion coefficient measurements at both low and high b-value ranges. The concentrations of MR visible metabolites were determined for the major resonances (i.e., N-acetyl-aspartate, choline and creatine) with acceptable accuracy.
Conclusion:
The results suggest that quantitative imaging and spectroscopy can be carried out on small animals on high-field clinical scanners.
