Matthew Smith1, Eric Peterson2,
Jeremy Gordon1, Kang Wang1, Ian Rowland3,
Sean Fain1,3
1Medical Physics,
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States; 2Biomedical
Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States; 3Radiology,
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
Hyperpolarized 13C-labeled pyruvate studies with MR have been used to observe the dynamic 13C label transfer to other metabolites. In this work, we first investigate the limitations of kinetic modeling of the in-vivo 13C label transfer using a widely used two-site exchange model and demonstrate a novel technique to provide contrast to the intracellular compartment by injecting a Gd-chelate following the injection of HP 13C-pyruvate to provide T1-shortening to non-intracellular compartments. We also provide a kinetic model that distinguishes the intracellular space by utilizing this contrast.