23Na/1H In-Vivo Renal MRI of Rodent Kidney at 3T by Using a Double-Tuned Transceiver Resonator System

Raffi Kalayciyan¹, Matthias Malzacher¹, Sabine Neudecker², Norbert Gretz², Lothar R. Schad¹

23Na-MRI at high-field strengths (>3T) has proven to be a unique modality for monitoring renal function non-invasively after pharmacological interventions in animal models. Nevertheless, performing in vivo studies on clinical MR-systems simplifies transferring newly-developed 23Na-MRI methods to clinical diagnostic imaging, although the lower field strengths represent a major drawback. In this work we developed a transceiver double-resonant (23Na/1H) RF resonator system, and integrated it using an RF interface at 3T human scanner in order to monitor furosemide-induced 23Na signal changes in renal tissue.