High-resolution MREIT using low imaging currents

Magnetic Resonance Electrical Impedance Tomography (MREIT) produces cross-sectional images of a conductivity distribution inside the human body. We use an MRI scanner as a tool to measure induced internal magnetic flux density distributions subject to externally injected currents. Recent experimental MREIT studies demonstrated conductivity image reconstructions of in vivo animal and human subjects with a few millimeter pixel size using 3 mA current injections. To enhance the clinical applicability of MREIT especially in neuroimaging applications, it is necessary to develop high-resolution MREIT techniques using low imaging currents. In this study, we demonstrate the capability of MREIT to perform conductivity imaging with less than 1 mA injection currents. The experimental results using a 3 T MRI scanner with a multi-echo ICNE pulse sequence and high-performance RF coils demonstrate that we can distinguish two different anomalies in reconstructed conductivity images with less than 1 mm pixel sizes. We plan to apply the developed experimental method to in vivo head imaging of small animals to investigate the feasibility of functional MREIT as a new neuro-imaging method.