The Case of the Missing Glutamine

Ileana Hancu¹, Mark Frye², John Port²

A theoretical study is performed to understand the accuracy and repeatability of multiple pulse sequences in quantifying glutamine concentration at 3T. Variable repeatability (12% to >50%) and significant bias (-30% to +70%) is noted for the seven pulse sequences considered. Data acquired in vivo using three of the pulse sequences used for simulations matches the predicted repeatability well. Following correction for the expected bias of each pulse sequence, consistent glutamine measurements, all in the 1mM range, are reported with the 3 sequences. An explanation for the mismatch between the in vivo 1H MRS and ex vivo results is attempted.