Volumetric analysis of mice lungs in a clinical magnetic resonance imaging scanner

Authors: Heverhagen, Johannes T.¹; Hahn, Horst K.²; Wegmann, Michael³; Herz, Udo³; Whitaker, Chastity D. Shaffer²; Matschl, Volker⁴; Alfke, Heiko⁵

Source: MAGMA Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine, Volume 17, Number 2, October 2004 , pp. 80-85(6)

Publisher: Springer

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Abstract:

Small animal models are widely used to study various pathologies. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows investigation of these animals in a non-invasive way. Therefore, the aim of our study was to develop and evaluate a low-cost approach to measure lung volumes in small animal MRI using a clinical scanner and a specially designed RF coil. Five mice (three of an established emphysema model and two controls) were investigated in a 1.0-T clinical scanner using a specially built small animal saddle coil and three different three-dimensional sequences; overall imaging time was approximately 16 min. Lung volumes were calculated from these images using an interactive watershed transform algorithm for semi-automatic image segmentation. The gold standard for the volume measurement was water displacement after surgical explantation. MRI measured volumes correlated significantly with ex vivo measurements on the explanted lungs (r = 0.99 to 0.89; p < 0.05). Mean lung volume in emphysema model mice was larger than in controls. High-resolution, small animal MRI using a clinical scanner is feasible for volumetric analysis and provides an alternative to a dedicated small animal scanner.

Keywords: Magnetic resonance imaging; Small animal imaging; Volumetry; Data analysis; Image segmentation

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1007/s10334-004-0053-9

Affiliations: 1: Department of Diagnostic Radiology, 011011011011011011011Philipps University, 01101101101101101101135033, Marburg, Germany, Email: heverhagen.1@osu.edu 2: Department of Radiology, 011011011011011011011The Ohio State University, 0110110110110110110111654 Upham Drive, 647 Means Hall, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA, 3: MeVis-Center for Medical Diagnostic Systems and Visualization, 01101101101101101101128359, Bremen, Germany, 4: Department of Clinical Chemistry, 011011011011011011011Philipps University, 01101101101101101101135033, Marburg, Germany, 5: Department of Diagnostic Radiology, 011011011011011011011Philipps University, 01101101101101101101135033, Marburg, Germany,

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