Sequential imaging and volumetric analysis of an intracerebral C6 glioma by means of a clinical MRI system

In this study, using high resolution coils; implanted growing rat brain tumors were imaged sequentially with 3-D measurements generated by means of a clinical magnetic resonance imaging system (CMRI) and commercially available wrist coil. Ten female Sprague-Dawley rats were used, eight were implanted with C6 rat glioma cells and two served as controls. The images that were used for the three-dimensional (3-D) measurements were obtained from T1 weighted post contrast sequences. A commercially available computer work station with 3-D image analysis software was used to generate the tumor volumes. In addition to the rat studies a mouse was included to see if the resolution would be adequate for imaging very small brains. Six rats had brain tumor growth after transplantation and two rats did not have any tumor growth, however, their images were similar to the controls animals. Tumor volumes varied widely among the implanted rats. The number of implanted tumor cells had no direct relationship to developing tumor volumes. This study demonstrates that high resolution images of a rat brain tumor can be obtained from a CMRI system using a commercially available wrist coil which is capable of imaging two rats at the same time or even a mouse brain. A commercially available computer work station was able to generate the tumor volumes. The ability to image brain tumor and generate volume measurements over time has potential for animal research.