Samantha Jane Mills1, Gerard Thompson1, Giovanni Alessandro Buonaccorsi1, Geoff J. Parker1, Alan Jackson1
1Imaging Science and Biomedical Engineering, School of Cancer and Imaging Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
Molecular oxygen is paramagnetic and can therefore reduce observed T1 values when dissolved in blood and in tissue. Presented here are novel data from a pilot study at 3Tesla in four healthy human volunteers showing a significant decrease in the T1 values in cortical grey matter(CGM), deep white matter(DWM), thalamus(BG), and skeletal muscle(SkM) during administration of 100% oxygen versus air. Baseline mean T1 values were 832+/-53ms, 1175+/-120ms, 1553+/-57ms, and 962+/-82ms for DWM, CGM, BG, and SkM respectively. Following correction for baseline drift , mean hyperoxic δT1 was -8.5+/-2.3ms, -33.8+/-4.1ms, -16.4+/-6.5ms, and -10.1+/-3.3 in DWM, CGM, BG, and SkM respectively (p<0.05).