Abstract #2685

Improved Frequency Selective Fat Suppression using Tissue Susceptibility Matched Pyrolytic Graphite Foams

Gary Chiaray Lee^1,2, Caroline Jordan^3,4, Pamela Tiet², Carlos Ruiz², Brian Hargreaves³, Steven Conolly^1,2

¹Berkeley/UCSF Bioengineering Joint Graduate Group, Berkeley, CA, United States; ²Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States; ³Radiology, Stanford University; ⁴Bioengineering, Stanford University

Magnetic susceptibility differences at air and tissue boundaries produce B0 field inhomogeneities near the skin and air cavities in the body, may cause significant imaging artifacts, including intravoxel dephasing, and distortion. These artifacts can result in unreliable chemically selective fat suppression, which exploit the 3.5 ppm chemical shift between fat and water. We have developed susceptibility matching pyrolytic graphite-embedded foams that are safe for patient use in MRI. Here we demonstrate significantly improved in vivo susceptibility matching in the hand and neck, improved frequency selective fat suppression in fat phantoms, and that the foams do not adversely affect SNR.