Peder Eric Zufall Larson1, Adam B. Kerr2,
Ralph E. Hurd3, John Kurhanewicz1, John M. Pauly2,
Daniel B. Vigneron1
1Radiology & Biomedical
Imaging, UC - San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States; 2Electrical
Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States; 3Applied
Science Laboratory, GE Healthcare, Menlo Park, CA, United States
Stimulated-echoes can be used to provide high sensitivity to diffusion and flow, creating unique contrast, but they inherently suffer from a 50% signal loss. The signal can be improved with a super stimulated-echo, which is more efficient. We have designed a new super stimulated-echo preparation scheme for diffusion and perfusion contrast in hyperpolarized 13C metabolic imaging. These have an expected 60% increase in SNR over a conventional stimulated-echo. By utilizing adiabatic pulse shapes in the preparation, they also have an improved response to B1+ variations. In vivo experiments in transgenic cancer mouse models have shown improved contrast for tumors.