Aaron Keith Grant1, Elena Vinogradov1,
Xiaoen Wang1, Hao Wang1, Pankaj K. Seth2,
Vikas P. Sukhatme2, David C. Alsop1, Robert E.
Lenkinski1
1Radiology, Beth Israel
Deaconess Medical Center & Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United
States; 2Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center & Harvard
Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
13C spectra acquired after administration of hyperpolarized contrast media generally result in a relatively sparse collection of spectra lines. Several strategies that exploit this sparsity have been proposed for fast 13C spectroscopic imaging. Here we show that by acquiring a series of balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP) images with a variable RF phase advance it is possible to obtain separate images of several metabolites. The method is illustrated using phantoms and in vivo studies with hyperpolarized pyruvate and t-butanol.