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Updated: Nov 10, 2025
High-resolution Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Human Subcortex In Vivo and Postmortem
Published on: December 30, 2015
Dedicated container for postmortem human brain ultra-high field magnetic resonance imaging
Jackson Tyler Boonstra1, Stijn Michielse1, Alard Roebroeck2
1Department of Neurosurgery, Maastricht University Medical Center, P. Debyelaan 25, Maastricht, 6202 AZ, the Netherlands; School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNS), Maastricht University Medical Center, P. Debyelaan 25, Maastricht, 6200 MD, the Netherlands.
A novel nonferromagnetic container improves ultra-high field MRI (UHF-MRI) of postmortem human brains. This method reduces artifacts and leakage, enabling high-resolution neuroimaging of brain structures and white matter connections.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Ultra-high field MRI (UHF-MRI) offers superior resolution and signal-to-noise ratios for human brain imaging.
- Postmortem tissue scanning allows extended scan times and reduced motion, enhancing image quality.
- Traditional postmortem neuroimaging methods suffer from artifacts due to tissue-air interfaces and leakage issues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a custom-built container to address challenges in postmortem MRI.
- To enable high-resolution scanning of whole brain hemispheres at UHF-MRI (7 Tesla and higher).
Main Methods:
- A custom-built, nonferromagnetic polymethylmethacrylate container was designed to fit common MR head-coils.
- The container allows for vacuum sealing of whole hemisphere samples, ensuring submersion and minimizing air-tissue boundaries.
- High-resolution T2* weighted and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) data were acquired using 3D gradient echo (GRE) and 3D kT-dSTEAM sequences on a 9.4T scanner.
Main Results:
- The container effectively submerged and contained tissue samples without MR interference.
- High-resolution (250 micrometer isotropic) T2* weighted data clearly visualized gray and white matter structures.
- DWI enabled dense reconstruction of structural white matter connections through tractography.
Conclusions:
- The custom container facilitates high-quality MR imaging of postmortem brain tissue.
- This method offers advantages over traditional techniques, including standardization and reduced leakage.
- The developed methodology can enhance typical postmortem neuroimaging routines.
