Hyperpolarization greatly increases the sensitivity of MRI studies of 13C-labeled substances. To expand our ability to investigate in vivo metabolism with hyperpolarized MRI, we developed a metabolite-specific 2D EPI pulse sequence with custom flyback spatially-selective RF pulses for [1-13C]pyruvate and [1-13C]lactate at 4.7T. Spectral profiles for each metabolite obtained using a [13C]urea phantom showed good correspondence with simulated profiles. In vivo testing was performed by imaging the liver and kidney of a rat following the injection of hyperpolarized [1-13C]pyruvate. Both the temporal and spatial resolution of [1-13C]pyruvate and [1-13C]lactate images was higher with our metabolite-specific EPI sequence than with CSI.
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