With the expansion of clinical CEST MRI, the analysis methods for Z-spectra need further validation and optimization. Fitting CEST spectra with the modified Bloch-McConnell equations provides the gold standard for chemical exchange rate (kex) quantification, but the current direct-fitting process requires fitting eight parameters. In this study, we have optimized the Bloch-fitting process and incorporated experimentally measured information. We tested the performance of the optimized algorithm using iopamidol phantoms of various pH levels and discovered that including experimentally determined T1, T2 and B0 information can increase the accuracy of the kex fitting results.
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