In vivo multiple-mouse imaging at 1.5 T.

Publication Type	Academic Article
Authors	Xu S, Gade T, Matei C, Zakian K, Alfieri A, Hu X, Holland E, Soghomonian S, Tjuvajev J, Ballon D, Koutcher J
Journal	Magn Reson Med
Volume	49
Issue	3
Pagination	551-7
Date Published	03/01/2003
ISSN	0740-3194
Keywords	Brain Neoplasms, Lung Neoplasms, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Models, Animal
Abstract	A multiple-mouse solenoidal MR coil was developed for in vivo imaging of up to 13 mice simultaneously to screen for tumors on a 1.5 T clinical scanner. For the coil to be effective as a screening tool, it should permit acquisition of MRIs in which orthotopic tumors with diameters >2 mm are detectable in a reasonable period of time (<1 hr magnet time) and their sizes accurately measured. Using a spin echo sequence, we demonstrated that this coil provides sufficient sensitivity for moderately high resolution images (156-176 microm in plane-resolution, 1.5 mm slice thickness). This spatial resolution permitted detection of primary brain tumors in transgenic/knockout mice and orthotopic xenografts. Brain tumor size as measured by MRI was correlated with size measured by histopathology (P < 0.001). Metastatic tumors in the mouse lung were also successfully imaged in a screening setting. The multiple mouse coil is simple in construction and may be implemented without any significant modification to the hardware or software on a clinical scanner.
DOI	10.1002/mrm.10397
PubMed ID	12594759