Post mortem brain temperature and its influence on quantitative MRI of the brain

OBJECTIVE: MRI temperature sensitivity presents a major issue in in situ post mortem MRI (PMMRI), as the tissue temperatures differ from living persons due to passive cooling of the deceased. This study aims at computing brain temperature effects on the MRI parameters to correct for temperature in PMMRI, laying the foundation for future projects on post mortem validation of in vivo MRI techniques. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Brain MRI parameters were assessed in vivo and in situ post mortem using a 3 T MRI scanner. Post mortem brain temperature was measured in situ transethmoidally. The temperature effect was computed by fitting a linear model to the MRI parameters and the corresponding brain temperature. RESULTS: Linear positive temperature correlations were observed for T(1), T(2)* and mean diffusivity in all tissue types. A significant negative correlation was observed for T(2) in white matter. Fractional anisotropy revealed significant correlations in all gray matter regions except for the thalamus. DISCUSSION: The linear models will allow to correct for temperature in post mortem MRI. Comparing in vivo to post mortem conditions, the mean diffusivity, in contrast to T(1) and T(2), revealed additional effects besides temperature, such as cessation of perfusion and active diffusion.