This thesis focuses on the measurement of diffusion coefficient of dialysis membrane. The first part describes possibilities of membrane modelling. Basic models, which allow us to determine the basic characteristics of dialysis membranes like permeability and diffusion coefficient, are described. Next chapter deals with basic types and properties of membranes. The main part focuses on making the experimental installation, which is used to simulate permeance of contrast agent, used in DCE-MRI, through dialysis membrane. The last theoretical chapter describes calculations used to estimate diffusion coefficient. Practical part of this thesis uses a designed experimental installation for estimation of diffusion coefficient for two contrast agents Gadovist® and Multihance®.

Diploma thesis explores the possibility of using diffusion-weighted images in medicine. The paper is a brief physical principle of operation of the magnetic resonance as a tool for non-destructive imaging of the internal structure of substances, the principle of the display contrast as T1, T2 and diffusion weighted images, the course of the sequence for obtaining images with different contrast. Medicine is faced with the problem of classification of pathological tissue in the brain. Contrast diffusion-weighted images does not visually determine the shape of pathological tissue in the form of a tumor or edema. With the T1 and T2 weighted images were calculated mask corresponding tumor and edema, that have been applied to the diffusion-weighted images. Images of the tumor and edema have been subjected diffusivity measurements and statistical evaluation for the purpose of classifying the type of tumor. Investigations were seven findings glioma and metastatic five awards. The research was focused on classifying pathological tissue.

This diploma thesis deals with DCE-MRI (Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging) thus one of the contrast magnetic resonance imaging methods. It describes the principle of conventional continuous DCE-MRI, which uses single bolus of contrast agent and further it focuses on the dual bolus contrast agent techniques, especially the interleaved acquisition. The graphical interface for processing Bruker systems data was made. Synthetic data were used to evaluate the influence of this method on the perfusion parameters estimation. Simulations proved that the further the second bolus is from the first one, the better results are. Simulations of acquisition interruption did not lead to the clear result. However, two statements, which are expected to lead to as good estimation of perfusion parameters as possible, were formulated

<div> <div> <div> <p>Recent observations of short-term changes in the neural health of youth athletes participating in collision sports such as football (boys) and soccer (girls) have incited a need to explore structural alterations in their brain tissue volumes. Studies have shown biochemical, vascular, functional connectivity, and white matter diffusivity changes in the brain physiology of these athletes that are strongly correlated with repetitive head acceleration exposure from on-field collisions. Here, research is presented that highlights regional anatomical volumetric measures that change longitudinally with accrued repetitive head impacts. A novel pipeline is introduced that provides simplified data analysis on a standard-space template to quantify group-level longitudinal volumetric changes within these populations. For both sports, results highlight incremental relative regional volumetric changes in the sub-cortical cerebrospinal fluid that are strongly correlated with head exposure events greater than a 50G threshold at the short-term post-season assessment. Moreover, longitudinal regional gray matter volumes are observed to decrease with time, only returning to baseline/pre-participation levels after sufficient (5-6 months) rest from collision-based exposure. These temporal structural volumetric alterations are significantly different from normal aging observed in gender and age-matched controls participating in non-collision sports. Future work involves modeling safe repetitive head exposure thresholds with multimodal image analysis and understanding their underlying physiological functioning. A possible pathophysiological pathway is presented highlighting the probable metabolic regulatory mechanisms. The interdisciplinary nature of this work is crucial to understand this pathology accurately and aid healthcare, sport professionals in the future. It is evident that continual participation in collision- based activities may represent a risk wherein recovery cannot occur. Even when present, the degree of the eventual recovery remains to be explored but has strong implications for the well-being of collision-sport participants. </p> </div> </div> </div>

Multi-site MRI studies collect large amounts of data in a short time frame. Large sample sizes are desirable to address power and replicability issues that have been problematic for scientists in the past. Although multi-site MRI solves the sample size problem, it brings with it a new set of challenges. Scanning the same person at different sites might result in differences in MRI derived measurements. In this thesis we compared three approaches to facilitate the analysis of multi-site MRI data: quantitative R1 mapping, adding site as a covariate in a linear model, and using the ComBat method. We also investigated the relationship between two common MRI measurements: signal and volume. We collected data from 64 healthy participants across 3 GE scanners and 1 Siemens scanner at 3T. We found that signal intensity was different between vendors whereas volume was not. Our R1 method resulted in values that were different across vendor and significantly lower than those reported in the literature. B1+ maps used to calculate R1 were different across sites. Using a scale factor, we were able to compensate for mistakes in R1 mapping. We also found that adding site as a covariate corrected mean differences in signal intensity across sites, but not differences in variance. The ComBat method gave best similarity between sites. However, since different people were scanned at each site, we couldn’t evaluate the effectiveness of each method as variation in the data could have been due to site effects or heterogeneity in participants. White matter volume and signal intensity in the white matter were correlated in males but not in females. We found that this low correlation was caused by outliers in our female sample. The correlation between white matter volume and signal in males suggests that both metrics are measuring myelin and can be used as converging evidence to detect changes in brain myelination. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Applying mathematical models to dynamic contrast enhanced MRI (DCE MRI) data to perform quantitative tracer kinetic analysis enables the estimation of tissue characteristics such as vascular permeability and the fractional volume of plasma in a tissue. However, it is unclear to what extent modeling assumptions, particularly regarding water exchange between tissue compartments, impacts parameter estimates derived from clinical DCE MRI data. In this work, a new model is developed which includes water exchange effects, termed the water exchange modified two compartment exchange model (WX-2CXM). Two boundaries of this model (the fast and no exchange limits) were used to analyse a clinical DCE MRI bladder cancer dataset. Comparisons with DCE CT, which is not affected by water exchange, suggested that water exchange may have affected estimates of vp, the fractional volume of plasma. Further investigation and simulations led to the development of a DCE MRI protocol which was sensitised to water exchange, in order to further evaluate the water exchange effects found in the bladder cancer dataset. This protocol was tested by imaging the parotid glands in eight healthy volunteers, and confirmed evidence of water exchange effects on vp, as well as flow Fp and the fractional volume of extravascular extracellular space ve. This protocol also enabled preliminary estimates of the water residence times in parotid tissue, however, these estimates had a large variability and require further validation. The work presented in this thesis suggests that, although water exchange effects do not have a large effect on clinical data, the effect is measurable, and may lead to the ability to estimate of tissue water residence times. Results do not support a change in the current practise of neglecting water exchange effects in clinical DCEMRI acquisitions.

Gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) are in widespread use to enhance magnetic resonance angiography images for evaluating vascular pathology. However, there are safety concerns and limitations regarding the use of GBCAs. It has been shown that the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) signal intensity (T1-weighted images) in some of the brain's tissues is higher for patients who had multiple exposures to GBCAs compared to patients who had never had exposure to GBCAs. This implies that GBCAs are not sufficiently removed from body such that GBCAs may potentially have long-term effects on the human body. These potential safety concerns have led to an increased interest in alternative contrast agents. Methemoglobin (metHb) and oxygen-free hemoglobin (HHb) are two forms of hemoglobin with paramagnetic properties. It has been shown that the T1-weighted signal intensity of blood is changed during MRI scans for metHb and HHb, leading to enhanced contrast of MRI images. The ability of metHb and HHb to change the signal intensity has led to the idea that they can be used as effective contrast agents. MetHb can be made by exposing oxyhemoglobin (oxyHb) to nitric oxide (NO) and HHb can be made by removing the oxygen from hemoglobin using nitrogen (N2). In this study, a new gas delivery system was developed to make metHb and HHb. The new gas delivery system was developed to have greater experimental control compared to the PermSelect hollow-fiber module that was used in preliminary studies to make metHb. The same system can be used to make HHb. Initial experiments showed significant amounts of undesired nitrite (NO2-) formation during metHb formation due to the presence of contaminants in the NO gas source. To minimize this problem, flow of NO from the gas source was bubbled in a sodium hydroxide solution in order to reduce the NO2- concentration. Following metHb formation, continuous delivery of NO also led to the formation of ferrous nitrosyl hemoglobin (HbIINO). MRI studies showed that HbIINO can also increase the signal intensity of an MRI image. It is unknown as to whether metHb, HHb, or HbIINO would be a stronger and more appropriate contrast agent and to what extent the T1-weighted signal is affected by the concentration. This study evaluated T1-weighted images of blood samples over a range of metHb and HHb concentrations, as well as HbIINO concentrations. Comparison of T1 values showed that metHb is the strongest contrast agent and that HHb is a relatively weak contrast agent. This study showed for the first time that HbIINO can provide a contrast effect, although not as strong as metHb but stronger than HHb. With metHb providing a viable contrast between 10-20%, metHb has the potential to be a safe and effective contrast agent since it can be naturally converted back to hemoglobin.

No description available.