Evaluation of Intravoxel Incoherent Motion in the Spinal Cord of Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Motivation: Previous perfusion-weighted imaging studies in multiple sclerosis (MS) have revealed alterations of cerebral perfusion, yet these types of studies have not been translated to studying MS in the spinal cord. Goal(s): Evaluate the use of intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) as a non-contrast MRI technique to assess perfusion in the spinal cord of MS. Approach: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted to determine spinal cord, white matter, and gray matter differences in IVIM-derived indices between the healthy and MS cohorts. Results: Spinal cord white matter perfusion fraction (p=0.082) and pseudo-diffusion (p=0.055) measurements came close to statistical significance between MS patients and healthy controls. Impact: This is the first study utilizing IVIM in the spinal cord and the findings suggest that IVIM has potential as a tool for assessing the microcirculation of the human spinal cord in MS.