Right-left asymmetry in the cervical spinal cord using T1 mapping at 7T

Motivation: Right-left differences in MR metrics can help identify pathological or specific regions of abnormalities. However, this requires investigating them first on a healthy populationGoal(s): To Investigate whether right-left spinal cord (SC) asymmetry can be identified in vivo and, if yes, determine in which specific regionsApproach: Right-left SC asymmetry was investigated based on cross-sectional area measurements and T1mapping derived from high-resolution 7T MRI and atlas-based segmentation with the AMU7T quantitative templateResults: Right-left T1 asymmetry in the cervical cord was evidenced in one-third of the AMU7T parcels, mostly in motor tracts, but not in lateral corticospinal tractsImpact: High-resolution quantitative 7T MR imaging and dedicated template may help identify microstructural asymmetry in the spinal cord. Such findings may have to be considered in the future when investigating pathological cohorts