Raffi Kalayciyan1, Friedrich Wetterling1, Sabine Neudecker2, Norbert Gretz2, Lothar R. Schad1
1Computer Assisted Clinical Medicine, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany; 2Medical Research Center, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
Since renal function is highly correlated with renal tissue 23Na concentration, 23Na-Kidney-MRI can be used to monitor the spatial changes in 23Na along the corticomedullary axis after diuretics administration. Furthermore, the temporal changes in the medulla and cortex 23Na signals could be studied, if sufficient spatial and temporal resolution can be achieved. The aim of this study was to measure the temporal 23Na signal before and after furosemide-injection in four rats via bilateral renal 23Na-MRI (n=8). In order to maximize 23Na signal at 9.4 T, a 3D-Ultrashort Echo Time (3D-UTE) sequence was used in conjunction with a home-built transceiver surface resonator.