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Girard, O. M.

Publications and source records attributed to Girard, O. M..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

An Open Test--Retest Dataset of Rapid Myelin Mapping Acquisitions

Myelin supports rapid and efficient neural communication and is implicated in brain development, learning, aging, and neurological disease. Although numerous magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) approaches have been proposed to characterize myelin in vivo, they have rarely been evaluated together within the same participants and across repeated acquisitions. To address these gaps, we introduce the Myelin Imaging Reliability and ReprOducibility Resource (MIRROR), an openly available multimodal test--retest MRI dataset of diffusion MRI (dMRI), inhomogeneous magnetization transfer imaging (ihMT), quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM), MP2RAGE, T1w/T2w ratio mapping, and transverse relaxometry in 22 healthy adults. We evaluated gray--white matter differentiation, intermetric correspondence, test--retest reliability, and participant specificity across 27 myelin-sensitive metrics. Gray--white matter differentiation was strong for dMRI derivatives, MP2RAGE-derived R1, T1w/T2w, and ihMT, while being substantially weaker for QSM measures. Intermetric spatial correlations were generally strongest within acquisition or modeling families. Test--retest reliability was generally high, particularly for dMRI-derived metrics, but was more variable among QSM-, ihMT-, and R2*-derived measures. Regional spatial profiles were also highly participant-specific, with discriminability approaching its upper bound for most metrics. All imaging data, derived maps, and processing code are openly released. MIRROR provides a benchmark for characterizing the measurement properties and practical tradeoffs of scalable myelin-sensitive MRI methods, supporting principled acquisition selection and accelerating methodological development and validation.

neuroscience↗

Structural Characterization of Cardiac Purkinje Fibers Using Inhomogeneous Magnetization Transfer (ihMT): A proof of Concept MRI-Histology Approach

BACKGROUNDThe cardiac Purkinje network plays a critical role in maintaining synchronized activation of ventricles but remains challenging to image due to its fine and unique structure. Conventional MRI techniques lack sufficient contrast to distinguish the underlying structural composition of Purkinje Fibers (PF). PURPOSEThis study investigates the potential of inhomogeneous Magnetization Transfer (ihMT) as a novel contrast mechanism for visualizing and differentiating subregions of the PF. METHODSFive fixed ex-vivo sheep hearts (n = 5) containing free running PF were scanned with a 9.4T MRI using a 2D ihMT RARE sequence. ASSESSMENTihMTR maps were analyzed using manually defined regions-of-interest (ROIs) corresponding to free-running PF, insertion points, and myocardium. Histological analysis (light and polarized microscopy) was performed on matched sections to quantify collagen types I and III, adipocytes, Purkinje cells, and cardiomyocytes. RESULTSThree ihMT protocols, which produced high ihMTR values in free-running PF (9.25-10.83%) and strong absolute contrast relative to the myocardium (2.00-2.17%) and insertion points (2.99-3.40%) in one sample were selected and applied to all samples. Across all samples, mean ihMTR in free-running was consistently higher than in insertion points (11.5 {+/-} 1.5% vs. 9.0 {+/-} 2.9%). Histological analysis revealed a significantly greater collagen content in free-running regions compared with insertion points (72.4 {+/-} 15.9% vs. 31.1 {+/-} 13.1%; p = 0.001), along with higher adipocyte content at insertion points vs. free-running regions (12.3 {+/-} 6.1% vs. 3.8 {+/-} 2.7%, non-significant). Collagen type III was more prominent at insertion points but remained a minor component overall. CONCLUSIONihMT imaging can distinguish PF subregions based on microstructural differences, particularly collagen and adipocyte distribution. This study lays the groundwork for developing biophysical models to interpret ihMT signals in terms of tissue composition and microstructure, providing a foundation for future studies. SponsorThis study received financial support from the French Government by the National Research Agency (ANR; SYNATRA ANR-21-CE19-0014-01) and Region Nouvelle Aquitaine (convention N{degrees}AAPR2022-2021-16609210).

biophysics↗