A Simple Approach for Improving Lipid SNR for Hepatic Fat Measurement with 1H MRS

Giulio Gambarota¹, Mark Tanner¹, Johanna Berg², Robert V. Mulkern³, Rex D. Newbould¹

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is becoming the method of choice for non-invasive assessment of lipids in liver. To avoid artifacts due to liver motion, MRS is often performed with a breath-hold approach. Given the limited amount of time available to perform the acquisition, it is of interest to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the lipid resonances. Here, we show that it is possible to substantially improve the SNR of the in liver, by choosing an appropriate TR. The current approach has the advantage of experimental simplicity and can be applied to all basic sequences routinely used in clinical settings.