Discriminating White/Gray matter in Cervical Spinal Cord by Myelin-Sensitive Inversion Recovery with Deep Learning Reconstruction at 1.5T MRI

Motivation: Discrimination between the gray and white matter of the spinal cord remains challenging. Phase-sensitive inversion recovery (PSIR) and myelin-sensitive inversion recovery (MySIR) are effective for discriminating between gray and white matter. Still, both of these methods have only been reported for use with 3T MRI. Goal(s): We investigated whether MySIR could also be implemented at 1.5T MRI. Approach: MySIR at 1.5T with deep learning-based reconstruction was compared with MySIR at 3T and PSIR for evaluation of gray/white matter contrast ratio. Results: MySIR performed at 1.5T using deep learning-based reconstruction exceeded the contrast ratio of 3T-MySIR and PSIR. Impact: This research advances the field of myelin-specific MR imaging by demonstrating the feasibility of MySIR at 1.5T MRI with deep learning-based reconstruction. This technique provides an efficient way to visualize myelin, potentially improving the diagnosis of neurological diseases.