Interleaved water and fat imaging and applications to lipid quantitation using the gradient reversal technique.
OBJECTIVE
To implement and evaluate the gradient reversal-based chemical shift imaging technique to obtain qualitative and quantitative spatially-registered fat and water images with high imaging efficiency at very high field.


METHODS
A multiecho gradient reversal-based sequence allowing interleaved water-fat imaging during a single acquisition and quantitation of fat/water content is presented. The sequence was optimized and implemented at 11.7T. The quantitation was verified with water-fat phantoms and applied to lipid measurement in an in vivo mouse model.


RESULTS
Results from phantoms, in vivo lipid measurement in mouse liver and hind limb muscle, and ex vivo rat knee imaging experiments demonstrated the robustness and high selectivity of this technique for interleaved and quantitative water and fat imaging at very high field.


CONCLUSIONS
The proposed MRI technique permits interleaved water and fat imaging, with which spectrally well-separated water and fat images at the identical slice locations could be obtained in a single acquisition without increasing scan time. The technique could be used for in vivo quantitative mapping of lipid content and applied to investigations using small animal experiment models.
Tang
Haiying
H
Department of Imaging, Merck Research Laboratories, Rahway, New Jersey, USA. haiying_tang@merck.com
Wu
Ed X
EX
Kennan
Richard
R
Liu
Haiying
H
Williams
Donald S
DS
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry*; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D051379:Mice; D008820:Mice, Obese; D016011:Normal Distribution; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D011522:Protons; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
D008055:Lipids; D011522:Protons; D014867:Water