Sodium (²³Na) MRI in Pediatric Central Nervous System Tumors

The ²³Na-MRI technique from acquisition to postprocessing provides many opportunities and potential advantages or augmentations over ¹H-MR imaging alone, and over prior preliminary ²³Na-MRI approaches. The current implementation provides improved contrast and resolution over prior ²³Na-MRI, partially due to the twisted projection imaging acquisition and anatomically guided reconstruction reconstruction. Importantly, the sequence is feasible to be obtained in a clinical setting in patients with brain tumors. The preclinical models allow for further exploration of sodium concentrations in tumor models during therapy. Neuro-oncology requires improved imaging biomarkers that are more reflective of tumor biology.