The possibility of deep tissue temperature imaging with a magnetic resonance (MR) imager was studied in 20 mongrel dogs by systemic hyperthermia (group I:
n=10) and hypothermia (group II:
n=10) using an extracorporeal bypass method.
The coronary view of the brain was taken by Asahi Mark J (0.1 Tesla, spin warp method,
Tr 1000ms,
Td 200ms) using a head coil (4 turns, bore diameter 120mm). The
T1s in the imaging of right and left white matter, grey matter, caudate nucleus, and thalamus were measured with rectal temperature in group I before heating, at 41°C and at 42°C and in group II before cooling, at 35°C, at 30°C and after rewarming.
In groups I and II, the
T1s at all sites except the white matter at 42°C did not change significantly at any rectal temperature.
T1 prolongation in white matter at 42°C may be due to edema probably because of topological biological reaction.
The present study suggests that deep tissue temperature imaging
in vivo by
T1 using the MR imager may be impossible in spite of obvious evidence for temperature dependence of
T1 values in theoretical and
in vitro studies already achieved.
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