Noninvasive 1H and 23Na nuclear magnetic resonance imaging of ancient Egyptian human mummified tissue

Münnemann, Kerstin; Böni, Thomas; Colacicco, Giovanni; Blümich, Bernhard; Rühli, Frank J

doi:10.1016/j.mri.2007.03.023

Cited by 30 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…This sequence offers a solution to the long-standing problem of MR imaging of solids (2). In addition to biomedical applications, this approach may be applied to the study of geological samples (29), archaeological artifacts (30,31), and granular physics (32,33), to name but a few examples. Very generally, quadratic echo imaging represents the ultimate limit of Hamiltonian design: The entire internal Hamiltonian is removed, and the desired external Hamiltonian is added to drive the coherent evolution of a quantum system.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phosphorus-31 MRI of hard and soft solids using quadratic echo line-narrowing

Frey

Michaud

VanHouten

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of solids is rarely attempted. One of the main reasons is that the broader MR linewidths, compared to the narrow resonance of the hydrogen ( 1 H) in free water, limit both the attainable spatial resolution and the signal-to-noise ratio. Basic physics research, stimulated by the quest to build a quantum computer, gave rise to a unique MR pulse sequence that offers a solution to this long-standing problem. The "quadratic echo" significantly narrows the broad MR spectrum of solids. Applying field gradients in sync with this line-narrowing sequence offers a fresh approach to carry out MRI of hard and soft solids with high spatial resolution and with a wide range of potential uses. Here we demonstrate that this method can be used to carry out three-dimensional MRI of the phosphorus ( 31 P) in ex vivo bone and soft tissue samples.bone mineral | cell membranes M agnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become an invaluable tool for clinical medicine, fundamental biomedical research, the physical sciences, and engineering (1). Typically, MRI detects only the signal from free water, using just a single nuclear isotope ( 1 H). Extending the reach of MRI to the study of other elements, and to hard or soft solids, opens new frontiers of discovery. One example is phosphorus ( 31 P), which is abundant in both bone mineral and cell membranes, so 31 P MRI of tissues is, in principle, possible. In practice, however, the slower motion of 31 P in those environments (compared to 1 H in water) results in much broader MR spectra (Fig. S1), limiting both the attainable spatial resolution and the signal-to-noise ratio (2). In this paper, we describe the use of a pulse sequence to narrow the 31 P MR spectrum of solids to that of a liquid (3), making high-resolution imaging possible. This line-narrowing MR sequence was discovered in the course of basic research (3-6) initiated by Kane's proposal (7) to build a quantum computer using phosphorus spins in silicon. Applying field gradients in synch with this sequence, we have obtained high-resolution 3D MR images of the 31 P in a variety of ex vivo animal bone samples. This is a unique probe of a key element in bone mineral, which complements existing assessments of bone quality. Using the same approach, we have obtained 3D MR images of 31 P in several ex vivo soft tissues.Bone is a composite material (8), containing approximately 45% bone mineral by volume (9). Bone mineral is similar to calcium hydroxyapatite (i.e., Ca 10 ðOHÞ 2 ðPO 4 Þ 6 Þ, but it is less crystalline, and it has a unique stoichiometry (10). The spatial distribution, composition, and quantity of bone mineral are primarily responsible for the compressive strength and stiffness of bone (8-10). While a few 31 P MRI studies have successfully targeted in vivo (10-12) and ex vivo (10, 13, 14, 15) bone, the broad MR spectra have limited the achievable spatial resolution to no better than 0.5 mm (15) and more typically in the range of 2 mm. There is currently a great need to probe the internal compositi...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phosphorus-31 MRI of hard and soft solids using quadratic echo line-narrowing

Frey

Michaud

VanHouten

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…The body part studied was an isolated finger. The technical specifics of the analysis included a high‐field small animal MRI System; internal resonator diameter about 2 cm; echo time about 800 μs, T2 about 300 μs; field of view as small as 27 × 27 mm 2 , with maximum spatial resolution up to about 120 μm (Münnemann et al, ). To better assess the topographic distribution of these chemical nuclei, a validating colocalization with clinical high‐resolution MSCT has been done, showing the dissimilar distribution of 1H and 23Na.…”

Section: Previous Use Of Magnetic Resonance Imagingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short Review: Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Ancient Mummies

Rühli

2015

The Anatomical Record

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Noninvasive imaging of ancient tissues is of increasing interest in palaeopathological studies, with conventional X-ray and computed tomography currently considered the diagnostic gold standard. Convenitional X-ray has a long tradition, yet imaging of ancient mummies using conventional X-ray technique has its drawbacks too. Until recently, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of soft tissues was successful with ancient dry tissues only after morphology-altering rehydration. This process was deemed necessary due to the previous reported lack of unbound protons. Hitherto, any approach without rehydration of the historic samples failed. Yet, the successful application of novel MRI techniques allows broadening of the methodological spectrum of methods for noninvasive studies on ancient corpses, whether they have wet or dry soft tissue, or bone. Spatial discrimination of chemical elements can now be carried out with high sensitivity in any historic specimen, leading to an increased level of diagnostic evidence.

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“…Egyptian embalmers used natron, a mixture of sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate, for mummification. Münnemann investigated the selective enrichment of sodium in the bone and demonstrated the feasibility of nonclinical MRI for visualizing historic dry human tissue (Münnemann et al 2007). In addition, such investigation potentially shows the spatial distribution of hydrogen ( 1 H) and sodium ( 23 Na) in mummified tissue.…”

Section: Pros-and Cons Of Mr-imaging In the Study Of Dehydrated Tissuementioning

confidence: 99%