CEST-MRI is increasingly evolving from brain to body applications. One of the known problems in body imaging is the presence of strong lipid signals. Their influence on the CEST signal is acknowledged but underexplored. The goal is to investigate the effects of lipids on the Z-spectrum taking TE into account. We performed simulations and verified the results in phantoms and in vivo. We demonstrate the mutual influence of fat fraction and TE on the Z-spectrum for gradient echo based sequences. This study provides a systematic understanding of lipid artifacts in CEST imaging and lays the foundations for their efficient removal.
This abstract and the presentation materials are available to members only; a login is required.