Simultaneous diffusion MRI measurements from multiple perfused rat hippocampal slices

Rat brain slices provide a controllable tissue model in which to investigate the biophysical basis of diffusion‐weighted magnetic resonance (MR) signal changes observed clinically in nervous tissue after ischemic injury. This study describes a new multislice perfusion chamber that allows for the simultaneous acquisition of diffusion‐weighted MR images from multiple perfused rat hippocampal slices (eight slices in the present study). These images had a signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) of 48 ± 3 at b = 8080 s/mm 2 , which was sufficient to analyze the multicomponent diffusion properties of water in rat hippocampal slices. The tissue water diffusion parameters (f fast = 0.527 ± 0.041, D fast = 1.268 ± 0.087 × 10 –3 mm 2 /s, and D slow = 0.060 ± 0.003 × 10 –3 mm 2 /s) were stable for at least 8 hr after slice procurement (ANOVA, P > 0.05), suggesting that it may be possible to study the acute temporal evolution of diffusion changes in multiple brain slices following experimental perturbation. Magn Reson Med 48:565–569, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.