Quantitative MRI and multiparameter mapping

Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI) of the brain anatomy aims at mapping quantitative parameters of water proton spins in the brain tissue. Instead of optimizing the image contrast, qMRI provides maps of tissue spin characteristics in calibrated physical units. Compared to conventional weighted imaging, qMRI minimizes instrumental biases, making maps acquired at different time points, different imaging sites, and different instruments comparable. Moreover, quantitative parameters of water proton spins carry information about the interaction of water with the microscopic environment and are therefore sensitive probes of brain tissue's microscopic properties. qMRI maps, therefore, provide unique in vivo measures of tissue myelination and tissue iron content. Acquired with ultra-high resolution at ultra-high field, qMRI opens the door for exciting neuroscience applications including in vivo Brodmann mapping, mapping of cortical layers, and characterization of tiny subcortical nuclei.