Imaging of the thoracic spinal cord using radially sampled averaged magnetization inversion recovery acquisitions

[Display omitted] •Utilization of a motion-insensitive radial acquisition for spinal cord MRI.•First morphometric MRI approach with a particular focus on the thoracic spinal cord.•Contrast adaptation based on averaged magnetization inversion recovery acquisitions.•Strong contrast between gray and white matter allows quantitative volumetry.•Proof-of-concept for spinal muscular atrophy and post-polio syndrome. Spinal cord (SC) gray and white matter atrophy quantification by advanced morphometric MRI can help to better characterize the course of neurodegenerative diseases in vivo, such as e.g. lower motor neuron disorders. Imaging the lower thoracic cord - containing those motor neurons that control leg function - could be particularly informative, however, is challenging due to tissue composition, physiological motion and large field of views. An “averaged magnetization inversion recovery acquisitions” (AMIRA) approach with a radial k-space acquisition scheme was developed. The method is designed for morphometric SC imaging with a focus on the thoracic SC. In a typical setting, radial AMIRA acquires transverse slices with a high 0.50 × 0.50mm2 in-plane resolution and a pronounced positive contrast between thoracic gray and white matter, within typically 2:39 min. Additional proof-of-concept measurements in patients demonstrate that such contrast and resolving capability is indeed necessary to assess potential atrophy of the anterior horns. Radial AMIRA utilizes two benefits of radial MRI techniques: being generally less prone to motion effects and that fold over artifacts can manifest less intrusively. These benefits are united with the original AMIRA approach which allows the contrast to be ‘tuned’ and improved based on the combination of five simultaneously acquired images of different tissue contrast. Radial AMIRA is a promising approach for in vivo SC gray and white matter atrophy visualization and quantification in lower motor neuron diseases and other autoimmune or genetic diseases involving the entire (not only cervical) spinal cord.