Considerations and recommendations from the <scp>ISMRM</scp> diffusion study group for preclinical diffusion <scp>MRI</scp> : Part 2—Ex vivo imaging: Added value and acquisition

The value of preclinical diffusion MRI (dMRI) is substantial. While dMRI enables in vivo non-invasive characterization of tissue, ex vivo dMRI is increasingly being used to probe tissue microstructure and brain connectivity. Ex vivo dMRI has several experimental advantages including higher SNR and spatial resolution compared to in vivo studies, and enabling more advanced diffusion contrasts for improved microstructure and connectivity characterization. Another major advantage of ex vivo dMRI is the direct comparison with histological data, as a crucial methodological validation. However, there are a number of considerations that must be made when performing ex vivo experiments. The steps from tissue preparation, image acquisition and processing, and interpretation of results are complex, with many decisions that not only differ dramatically from in vivo imaging of small animals, but ultimately affect what questions can be answered using the data. This work represents "Part 2" of a three-part series of recommendations and considerations for preclinical dMRI. We describe best practices for dMRI of ex vivo tissue, with a focus on the value that ex vivo imaging adds to the field of dMRI and considerations in ex vivo image acquisition. We first give general considerations and foundational knowledge that must be considered when designing experiments. We briefly describe differences in specimens and models and discuss why some may be more or less appropriate for different studies. We then give guidelines for ex vivo protocols, including tissue fixation, sample preparation, and MR scanning. In each section, we attempt to provide guidelines and recommendations, but also highlight areas for which no guidelines exist (and why), and where future work should lie. An overarching goal herein is to enhance the rigor and reproducibility of ex vivo dMRI acquisitions and analyses, and thereby advance biomedical knowledge.

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Publication Details

Journal
Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
Published
2025-03-04
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/mrm.30435
Citations
4
Primary Topic
Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
5.44

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article

Considerations and recommendations from the ISMRM diffusion study group for preclinical diffusion MRI : Part 2—Ex vivo imaging: Added value and acquisition

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4 citations
Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
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Considerations and recommendations from the ISMRM diffusion study group for preclinical diffusion MRI : Part 2—Ex vivo imaging: Added value and acquisition

Yohan van de Looij, Ivana Drobnjak, Manisha Aggarwal, Jan Zimmermann, Julien Cohen‐Adad, Warda T Syeda, Nian Wang, Luisa Ciobanu, Amy Howard, Brian Benjamin Hansen, Marleen Verhoye, Trygve B. Leergaard, Farshid Sepehrband, Alexander Leemans, Alard Roebroeck, Emilie T. McKinnon, Mathieu Santin, Francesco Grussu, Flavio Dell’Acqua, Adam W. Anderson, David Hike, Maxime Descoteaux, Andreea Hertanu, Shawna Farquharson, Matthew D. Budde, Ben Jeurissen, Gene S. Kim, André Obenaus, Ileana Jelescu, Kurt G. Schilling, Jiangyang Zhang, Noam Shemesh, Cornelius Eichner, Els Fieremans, Denis Le Bihan, Andrew F. Bagdasarian, Christien Bowman, Benjamin C. Tendler, Lucio Frydman, Kevin D. Harkins, Lucas Soustelle, Karla L. Miller, Ruiliang Bai, Bennett A. Landman, Carlo Pierpaoli, Samuel C. Grant, G. Allan Johnson, Stijn Michielse, Fatima Nasrallah, Jelle Veraart, Andrada Ianuș, Xu Duan, Hao Huang, Dan Wu, Jeff F. Dunn, Tim B. Dyrby, Rachel Barrett, Stephen J. Blackband
article en
4 citations

Abstract

The value of preclinical diffusion MRI (dMRI) is substantial. While dMRI enables in vivo non-invasive characterization of tissue, ex vivo dMRI is increasingly being used to probe tissue microstructure and brain connectivity. Ex vivo dMRI has several experimental advantages including higher SNR and spatial resolution compared to in vivo studies, and enabling more advanced diffusion contrasts for improved microstructure and connectivity characterization. Another major advantage of ex vivo dMRI is the direct comparison with histological data, as a crucial methodological validation. However, there are a number of considerations that must be made when performing ex vivo experiments. The steps from tissue preparation, image acquisition and processing, and interpretation of results are complex, with many decisions that not only differ dramatically from in vivo imaging of small animals, but ultimately affect what questions can be answered using the data. This work represents "Part 2" of a three-part series of recommendations and considerations for preclinical dMRI. We describe best practices for dMRI of ex vivo tissue, with a focus on the value that ex vivo imaging adds to the field of dMRI and considerations in ex vivo image acquisition. We first give general considerations and foundational knowledge that must be considered when designing experiments. We briefly describe differences in specimens and models and discuss why some may be more or less appropriate for different studies. We then give guidelines for ex vivo protocols, including tissue fixation, sample preparation, and MR scanning. In each section, we attempt to provide guidelines and recommendations, but also highlight areas for which no guidelines exist (and why), and where future work should lie. An overarching goal herein is to enhance the rigor and reproducibility of ex vivo dMRI acquisitions and analyses, and thereby advance biomedical knowledge.

Magnetic Resonance in MedicineVol. 93(6)
Champalimaud Foundation (PT), University of Geneva (CH), University of Southern California (US), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), National Institutes of Health (US), University of Minnesota (US), Florida A&M University - Florida State University College of Engineering (US), Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (US), Université de Sherbrooke (CA), Johns Hopkins University (US), University of Antwerp (BE), Medical University of South Carolina (US), Inserm (FR), The University of Queensland (AU), The University of Melbourne (AU), Queen Mary University of London (GB), University of Calgary (CA), Duke University (US), University of California, San Francisco (US), King's College London (GB), University of Oslo (NO), Vanderbilt University (US), University of California, Irvine (US), Medical College of Wisconsin (US), Aarhus University (DK), Cornell University (US), Aix-Marseille Université (FR), Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (FR), Université Paris-Saclay (FR), Hvidovre Hospital (DK), Alberta Children's Hospital (CA), Copenhagen University Hospital (DK), University of California System (US), University Medical Center Utrecht (NL), University of Florida (US), Maastricht University (NL), Sorbonne Université (FR), University of Oxford (GB), National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (US), Milwaukee VA Medical Center (US), Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (GB), Direction de la Recherche Fondamentale (FR), National Imaging Facility (AU), Indiana University Bloomington (US), Zhejiang Lab (CN), Vall d'Hebron Hospital Universitari (ES), CEA Paris-Saclay (FR), Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (DE), National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (US), Centre d'Imagerie BioMedicale (CH), Centre de Résonance Magnétique Biologique et Médicale (FR), National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (GB), Resonance Research (United States) (US), Mila - Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute (CA), Imaging Center (US), Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (ES), Indiana University School of Medicine, Hotchkiss Brain Institute (CA), University College London (GB), Polytechnique Montréal (CA), Imperial College London (GB), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (CH), Weizmann Institute of Science (IL), Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (US), New York University (US), Université de Montréal (CA), Zhejiang University (CN), University of Pennsylvania (US), Vanderbilt University Medical Center (US), Technical University of Denmark (DK), University of Lausanne (CH)
Wellcome Trust, Generalitat de Catalunya, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Vlaamse regering, National Institutes of Health
Openalex Percentile: Top 5%
Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
5.44
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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