Assessing Longitudinal Brain Changes in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Using a Rapid Quantitative Magnetization Transfer MRI

Motivation: Identifying biomarkers for subtle brain changes after mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) is critical for better understanding the mechanisms of the injury that can pave the way for improved treatment development for MTBI patients. Goal(s): We aim to identify in vivo biomarkers sensitive to brain changes and progression of MTBI by using quantitative magnetization transfer (qMT). Approach: Rapid hybrid-state qMT imaging combined with the unconstrained 2-pool model was performed on a total of 44 MTBI subjects at three timepoints post-injury. Results: Significantly different qMT measures were found in the brain including CSF, GM, and WM regions consistently across timepoints. Impact: Our demonstration of qMT imaging as a sensitive measure for detecting subtle brain changes following MTBI suggests its potential as a quantitative biomarker for brain injury, which could improve diagnostic accuracy and guide treatment strategies post-injury.