High-resolution NMR images on three different present-day wood samples and an archaeological wood specimen were presented and discussed. Although the spatial resolution is still low to perform dendrology for the exact identification of the wooden species, the T2 -spin-density weighted images exhibit contrasts that are in excellent agreement with optical histological images. On the other hand, T2 * and T1 -weighted images provide physiological information that is not obtainable by the usual light microscopic investigations. Moreover, the diffusion-weighted images show the anisotropic behavior of the water diffusion coefficient quantified along and perpendicularly to vascular bundles (vessels and tracheids), which can be related to the morphology and size of wooden microstructure. This work suggests that high-resolution multiparametric MRI may be a useful tool to increase the information obtainable from the waterlogged archaeological wood remains in a completely non-invasive and non-destructive approach. Therefore, it would be desirable to further develop the hardware and functional characteristics of MRI scanners to improve their potential application in the field of wooden cultural heritage.

中文翻译：

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当代和浸水考古木材的高分辨率多参数 MRI

展示并讨论了三种不同的现代木材样品和考古木材标本的高分辨率 NMR 图像。虽然空间分辨率仍然很低，无法进行树木学以准确识别木质物种，但 T2 自旋密度加权图像显示出与光学组织学图像非常一致的对比度。另一方面，T2 * 和 T1 加权图像提供了通常的光学显微镜研究无法获得的生理信息。此外，扩散加权图像显示了沿着和垂直于维管束（血管和管胞）量化的水扩散系数的各向异性行为，这可能与木质微结构的形态和大小有关。这项工作表明，高分辨率多参数 MRI 可能是一种有用的工具，可以以完全非侵入性和非破坏性的方式增加从浸水的考古木材遗骸中获得的信息。因此，需要进一步开发 MRI 扫描仪的硬件和功能特性，以提高其在木质文化遗产领域的潜在应用。