Development of mouse brain imaging environment using clinical 3-Tesla magnetic resonance scanner

Abstract

The introduction of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in preclinical research requires the development of new MRI machines for both small animals, such as mice and rats, and larger animals, such as pigs and monkeys, and there is a substantial cost associated with the development of such machines. The objective of this study was to develop a mouse brain imaging environment using a mouse head coil and a clinical 3T-MRI machine. First, optimal acquisition parameters were determined by the phantom experiment. Next, T2-weighted images and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) images were taken of mice in a mouse model of cerebral aneurysm. Sufficiently good quality T2-weighted images of the brain parenchyma over time were obtained, and major cerebral arteries and cerebral aneurysms were depicted with MRA. The imaging environment developed in this study achieved mouse brain imaging of sufficient quality without the need of a small animal MRI machine.