3D volumetric myelin water phase mapping via short-TR adiabatic inversion recovery (STAIR) MRI

Demyelination is a common hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Thus, selective imaging of myelin will greatly enhance the diagnosis of such diseases. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of acquiring whole-brain 3D myelin water phase maps via short-TR adiabatic inversion recovery (STAIR) MRI. The phase of proton density-weighted (PD) images was subtracted from the phase of STAIR images to remove the background field. The overall positive frequency shift, with a larger shift in the splenium of the lower slice, matches the white matter fiber orientation.