Multinuclear fingerprinting (MNF): Data and code for statistical analysis

Data and Matlab code for statistical analysis of a new quantitative magnetic resonance imaging method called multinuclear fingerprinting (MNF). MNF consists of two consecutive parts: (1) data acquisition using simultaneous proton/sodium magnetic resonance fingerprinting (1H/23Na MRF), and (2) data post-processing with a super-resolution (SR) algorithm to increase the resolution of the 23Na MRF data to match the highest resolution of the 1H MRF data. MNF can generate quantitative conjoint maps of proton density (PD) and relaxation times (T1 and T2) of the water molecules in tissues in vivo from 1H MRF, and tissue sodium concentration (TSC), T1, T2short and T2long of the Na+ ions from 23Na MRF. All the final maps have the exact same spatial and temporal resolutions. This technique was tested on the brains of seven healthy subjects at 7 T, with a final resolution of 1.5×1.5×5 mm3 for all maps acquired in 21 min. MNF can therefore assess both morphology (i.e. tissue structure information) and physiology (i.e. ion homeostasis and cellular energy metabolism information) at the same time in the human brain. This new imaging research tool could provide new fundamental insights into the inter-relationship between brain morphology and physiology in vivo, help improve our understanding of the human brain, and help study neuropathologies and their treatments quantitatively and non-invasively. Moreover, since all 1H/23Na MRF data is acquired simultaneously, all images have the exact same position and orientation, and undergo identical B0 inhomogeneities, as well as the same head motion and blood and cerebrospinal fluid pulsations. This could be useful for future dynamic or functional studies to assess the local changes in both water and sodium concentrations, and their respective relaxation times, altogether during tasks or interventions in brain. MNF was initially developed for neuroimaging, but it can be adapted and optimized for any other parts of the body.