Abstract #3422

1H SPECIAL-MRSI at Ultra-Short TE: Improved Metabolite Detection for Multiple Voxels in Human Brain at 3T

Ralf Mekle¹, Vladimir Mlynarik², Bernadeta Walaszek¹, Rolf Gruetter^2,3, Bernd Ittermann¹, Florian Schubert¹

¹Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Berlin, Germany; ²Laboratory for Functional & Metabolic Imaging (LIFMET), Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; ³Departments of Radiology, Universities of Lausanne & Geneva, Lausanne & Geneva, Switzerland

The spin echo full intensity acquired localized (SPECIAL) MRS technique provides the benefits of full signal intensity at short TE resulting in enhanced metabolite quantification as previously shown in single volume studies. Since many applications require the acquisition of spectra from multiple voxels, 1H SPECIAL-MRSI was realized in this study for the first time on a clinical platform. Human brain MRSI data at very short TE were acquired for N = 5 volunteers at 3T. High spectral quality and minimization of T2 losses and J-evolution effects resulted in reliable quantification (CRLB < 20%) of several metabolites in multiple voxels.