Basic models to characterize the CEST effect in vivo suffer from competing magnetization transfer (MT) effects. Here, we use qMT to model the CEST effect and derive CEST indices that are independent of MT. Additionally, simultaneously assessing the MT and CEST effects provides more robust estimates of other elements of the MT effect. Simulations and initial in vivo findings suggest that combining MT and CEST fitting provides a more accurate fit of CEST z-spectra than a traditional single pool Lorentzian fit, and thus provides estimates of the CEST effect that are not dependent on the MT effect.
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