Table 2 Sequence Protocol for TIPIT
Sequence | Scan Parameters | Target area |
|---|---|---|
1. Midline sagittal T1 weighted Turbo Spin Echo (TSE) | TR = 337 ms, TE = 18 ms Slice thickness = 3 mm, 0.3 mm gap Scan Duration = 2 minutes | Anatomical alignment and measurement of pituitary height |
2. Coronal heavily T2 weighted TSE (whole brain) | TR = 5750 ms, TE = 150 ms Slice thickness = 1.5 mm, contiguous Scan Duration = 5 minutes | Measurement of whole brain volume (cerebrum/cerebellum) and measurement of specific brain structures using stereology: |
|  |  |    • caudate |
|  |  |    • hippocampus |
|  |  |    • thalamus |
|  |  |    • prefrontal cortex |
|  |  |    • inferior frontal gyrus |
|  |  |    • temporal lobe |
3. MR Angiography | TR = 25 ms, TE = 6.9 ms Slice thickness = 0.6 mm, 3D Time of Flight (TOF) Multiple Overlapping Thin Slab Acquisition (MOTSA) with a SENSE factor of 2.00. Isotropic resolution = 0.6 × 06 × 06 mm3 Scan Duration = 6 minutes | Blood vessel diameter, tortuosity, and density |
4. Diffusion tensor imaging | 2D single shot spin-echo Echo-Planar Imaging (SE-EPI) with SENSE factor of 2.5. 24 contiguous axial slices of 3 mm thickness with in-plane isotropic resolution of 2 mm. TR/TE = 3350/74 ms. 32 gradient directions with a b-factor of 700 s/mm2. 2 averages. Scan Duration = 3 minutes 47 s. | Measurement of degree of mean diffusivity and fractional anisotrophy (as markers of water content and myelination) in |
|  |  |    • posterior limb of internal capsule |
|  |  |    • centrum semiovale |
|  |  |    • anterior and posterior corpus callosum |
|  |  |    • frontal white matter |
|  |  |    • occipital white matter |
5. Axial T2-weighted TSE | TR = 3023 ms, TE = 150 ms. Axial slices of 3 mm thickness with an in-plane isotropic resolution of 0.7 mm Scan Duration = 3 minutes | In same slice location as DTI to aid region drawing |