Description of Invention:
This invention describes an improvement and continuation of the CHARMED MRI framework described above, extending this technology to measure the axon diameter distribution (ADD) of nerve bundles (fascicles) in the central and peripheral nervous systems.
The invention essentially consists of a non-obvious combination of CHARMED MRI and an improvement of an NMR method, originally developed for particle sizing in porous media applications, which was extended and enhanced to provide a direct measurement of the ADD within nerve fascicles in the brain, spine or other parts of the peripheral nervous system on a voxel-by-voxel basis. Additionally this approach can be extended to measure the fiber orientation distribution of axons within each voxel of an imaging volume and particularly the myelin content within each voxel.
The significance of this invention is that it represents a way to provide a non-invasive, painless, in vivo measurement of microanatomical (histological) features of nerves (and possibly muscles) that are critically important in medicine and the neurosciences and previously were only available using invasive histological means requiring biopsy. The ADD is altered in abnormal development (possibly even in autism), in degenerative processes (e.g., aging, alcoholism, Alzheimer's disease) and diseases such as ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). The ADD is a critically important parameter of a nerve bundle from a neuroscience perspective because axon diameter determines the conduction velocity of action potentials, and thus the arrival time and latency of nerve impulses traveling along them. The orientation or directional distribution of axons is important in Tractography applications to help determine how different cortical regions of the brain are connected to each other via white matter pathways. Myelin is dynamically regulated in vivo and affects the electrical insulating property of axons, and thus the conduction velocity of nerves. Myelin content is a critically important parameter in MS and a large number of dysmyelinating and demyelinating diseases as well as in normal and abnormal development.
A detailed announcement describing the licensing opportunity for this and related technologies referenced below was published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 ( 74 FR 17199-17201 ).
Development Status:
Invention is fully developed.
Inventors:
Peter J Basser (NICHD)
Patent Status:
HHS, Reference No. E-079-2003/1
US, Application No. 12/114,713 filed 02 May 2008
Related Technologies:
US, Patent No. 5,539,310, Issued 23 Jul 1996, Reference No. E-203-1993/0
US, Patent No. 7,643,863, Issued 05 Jan 2010, Reference No. E-079-2003/0
US, Application No. 61/087,968 filed 11 Aug 2008, Reference No. E-276-2008/0
US, Application No. 60/485,658 filed 08 Jul 2003, Reference No. E-079-2003/0
PCT, Application No. PCT/US2004/22027 filed 08 Jul 2004, Reference No. E-079-2003/0
US, Application No. 12/539,462 filed 11 Aug 2009, Reference No. E-276-2008/0
PCT, Application No. PCT/US94/08842 filed 05 Aug 1994, Reference No. E-203-1993/0
Relevant Publication:
- Y Assaf, T Blumenfeld-Katzir, Y Yovel, PJ Basser. AxCaliber: a method for measuring axon diameter distribution from diffusion MRI. Magn Reson Med. 2008 Jun;59(6):1347–1354. [ PDF ]
- D Barazany, PJ Basser, Y Assaf. In vivo measurement of axon diameter distribution in the corpus callosum of rat brain. Brain 2009; p 1-11.
- D Barazany, PJ Basser, Y Assaf. In-vivo measurement of the axon diameter distribution in the rat’s corpus callosum. In Proc Intl Soc Mag Reson Med. 2008;16:567. [ PDF ]
- D Barazany, P Basser, Y Assaf. AxCaliber – in-vivo measurement of axon diameter distribution with MRI. In 16th Annual Meeting of The Israel Society for Neuroscience, Eilat, Israel; November 25–27, 2007; p. 8–9. [ PDF ]
- PJ Basser, T Blumenfeld, G Levin, Y Yovel, Y Assaf. AxCaliber: an MRI method to measure the diameter distribution and density of axons in neuronal tissue. In Magn Reson Imaging 2007;25:550. [ PDF ]
- Y Assaf and PJ Basser. Non parametric approach for axon diameter distribution estimation from diffusion measurements. In Proc Intl Soc Mag Reson Med. 2007;15:1536. [ PDF ]
- PJ Basser, T Blumenfeld, G Levin, Y Yovel, Y Assaf. AxCaliber: an MRI method to measure the diameter distribution and density of axons in neuronal tissue. In 8th International Bologna Conference on Magnetic Resonance in Porous Media 2006; p. 37. [ PDF ]
- Y Assaf, T Blumenfeld, G Levin, Y Yovel, PJ Basser. AxCaliber – a method to measure the axon diameter distribution and density in neuronal tissues. In Proc Intl Soc Mag Reson Med. 2006;14:637. [ PDF ]
Licensing Status:
Available for licensing.
Collaborative Research Opportunity:
The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Section on Tissue Biophysics and Biomimetics, is seeking statements of capability or interest from parties interested in collaborative research to further develop, evaluate, or commercialize novel MRI methods to probe tissue structure and organization, particularly for neuroimaging applications. Please contact Alan Hubbs, Ph.D. at 301-594-4263 or hubbsa@mail.nih.gov for more information.
Portfolios:
Devices/Instrumentation
Devices/Instrumentation - Diagnostics
In-vivo Data
For Additional Information Please Contact:
John Stansberry Ph.D.
NIH Office of Technology Transfer
6011 Executive Blvd. Suite 325,
Rockville, MD 20852
United States
Email: js852e@nih.gov
Phone: 301-435-5236
Fax: 301-402-0220
Ref No: 1925
Updated: 06/2010
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Description of Invention:
This invention describes an improvement and continuation of the CHARMED MRI framework described above, extending this technology to measure the axon diameter distribution (ADD) of nerve bundles (fascicles) in the central and peripheral nervous systems.
The invention essentially consists of a non-obvious combination of CHARMED MRI and an improvement of an NMR method, originally developed for particle sizing in porous media applications, which was extended and enhanced to provide a direct measurement of the ADD within nerve fascicles in the brain, spine or other parts of the peripheral nervous system on a voxel-by-voxel basis. Additionally this approach can be extended to measure the fiber orientation distribution of axons within each voxel of an imaging volume and particularly the myelin content within each voxel.
The significance of this invention is that it represents a way to provide a non-invasive, painless, in vivo measurement of microanatomical (histological) features of nerves (and possibly muscles) that are critically important in medicine and the neurosciences and previously were only available using invasive histological means requiring biopsy. The ADD is altered in abnormal development (possibly even in autism), in degenerative processes (e.g., aging, alcoholism, Alzheimer's disease) and diseases such as ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). The ADD is a critically important parameter of a nerve bundle from a neuroscience perspective because axon diameter determines the conduction velocity of action potentials, and thus the arrival time and latency of nerve impulses traveling along them. The orientation or directional distribution of axons is important in Tractography applications to help determine how different cortical regions of the brain are connected to each other via white matter pathways. Myelin is dynamically regulated in vivo and affects the electrical insulating property of axons, and thus the conduction velocity of nerves. Myelin content is a critically important parameter in MS and a large number of dysmyelinating and demyelinating diseases as well as in normal and abnormal development.
A detailed announcement describing the licensing opportunity for this and related technologies referenced below was published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 ( 74 FR 17199-17201 ).
Development Status:
Invention is fully developed.
Inventors:
Peter J Basser (NICHD)
Patent Status:
HHS, Reference No. E-079-2003/1
US, Application No. 12/114,713 filed 02 May 2008
Related Technologies:
US, Patent No. 5,539,310, Issued 23 Jul 1996, Reference No. E-203-1993/0
US, Patent No. 7,643,863, Issued 05 Jan 2010, Reference No. E-079-2003/0
US, Application No. 61/087,968 filed 11 Aug 2008, Reference No. E-276-2008/0
US, Application No. 60/485,658 filed 08 Jul 2003, Reference No. E-079-2003/0
PCT, Application No. PCT/US2004/22027 filed 08 Jul 2004, Reference No. E-079-2003/0
US, Application No. 12/539,462 filed 11 Aug 2009, Reference No. E-276-2008/0
PCT, Application No. PCT/US94/08842 filed 05 Aug 1994, Reference No. E-203-1993/0
Relevant Publication:
Licensing Status:
Available for licensing.
Collaborative Research Opportunity:
The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Section on Tissue Biophysics and Biomimetics, is seeking statements of capability or interest from parties interested in collaborative research to further develop, evaluate, or commercialize novel MRI methods to probe tissue structure and organization, particularly for neuroimaging applications. Please contact Alan Hubbs, Ph.D. at 301-594-4263 or hubbsa@mail.nih.gov for more information.
Portfolios:
Devices/Instrumentation
Devices/Instrumentation - Diagnostics
In-vivo Data
For Additional Information Please Contact:
John Stansberry Ph.D.
NIH Office of Technology Transfer
6011 Executive Blvd. Suite 325,
Rockville, MD 20852
United States
Email: js852e@nih.gov
Phone: 301-435-5236
Fax: 301-402-0220
Ref No: 1925
Updated: 06/2010