Evaluation of deep gray matter for early brain development usingmulti-parametric MR

Motivation: Few research has reported the differences of the T1, T2* and proton density (PD) values of multi-parametric magnetic resonance (MR) between healthy preterm and term neonates. Goal(s): To evaluate T1, T2* and PD mapping of preterm and term neonate in the deep gray matter. Approach: We performed MRI on a 3.0T MR scanner (Omega, United Imaging Health Care) using multi-parametric MR imaging with flexible design (MULTIPLEX) transverse axis sequence. Results: T1 relaxation time showed significant differences in bilateral putamen (PT) and pallidus (GP) between preterm and term newborns and was negative correlated with gestational age (GA). Impact: Our study demonstrated that the T1 relaxation time in deep gray matter nuclei decreased with GA, and the preterm showed higher T1 relaxation values than the term neonate in PT and GP at term equivalent age.