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MR microscopy of formalin fixed paraffin embedded histology specimens
Author(s) -
Macura Slobodan,
Mishra Prasanna K.,
Gamez Jeffrey D.,
Pirko Istvan
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
magnetic resonance in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.696
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1522-2594
pISSN - 0740-3194
DOI - 10.1002/mrm.25225
Subject(s) - histology , pathology , microscopy , magnetic resonance microscopy , magnetic resonance imaging , biomedical engineering , materials science , medicine , radiology , spin echo
Purpose Archived formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded (FFPE) tissue collections represent a valuable informational resource for numerous studies. However, there is no NMR signal from FFPE specimens at room temperature. To obtain MR images and enable comparison of magnetic resonance microscopy (MRM) and histology studies we propose to image FFPE tissue at elevated temperature. Methods A FFPE tissue block was imaged at 7 Tesla (T) and 16.4T at 70–80°C using T 2 ‐weighting methods. The only difference from standard MR microscopy (MRM) is elevated temperature at which the embedding medium melts. Results Using FFPE murine brain tissue, we were able to demonstrate the feasibility of tissue MRM from paraffin embedded specimens. Histology images taken from the specimen after MRM demonstrate that keeping the FFPE specimen in paraffin melt at 70–80°C for dozens of hours does not affect subsequent histology analysis. Conclusion MRM of FFPE tissue from paraffin melt opens new avenues for analyzing archived histological specimens (biopsies, post mortem, etc.) and for correlating MR images with histology (optical microscopy). In addition, 3D MRM of FFPE specimens could guide histology in search for appropriate regions of interest and subsequently minimize occurrences of false negatives in tissue analysis. Magn Reson Med 71:1989–1994, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.