Quantitative SENSE-MRSI of the human brain.
OBJECTIVE
To develop a method for estimating metabolite concentrations using phased-array coils and sensitivity-encoded (SENSE) magnetic resonance spectroscopic images (MRSI) of the human brain.


METHODS
The method is based on the phantom replacement technique and uses receive coil sensitivity maps and body-coil loading factors to account for receive B(1) inhomogeneity and variable coil loading, respectively. Corrections for cerebrospinal fluid content from the MRSI voxel were also applied, and the total protocol scan time was less than 15 min. The method was applied to 10 normal human volunteers using a multislice 2D-MRSI sequence at 3 T, and seven different brain regions were quantified.


RESULTS
N-Acetyl aspartate (NAA) concentrations varied from 9.7 to 14.7 mM, creatine (Cr) varied from 6.6 to 10.6 mM and choline (Cho) varied from 1.6 to 3.0 mM, in good general agreement with prior literature values.


CONCLUSIONS
Quantitative SENSE-MRSI of the human brain is routinely possible using an adapted phantom-replacement technique. The method may also be applied to other MRSI techniques, including conventional phase encoding, with phased-array receiver coils, provided that coil sensitivity profiles can be measured.
Bonekamp
David
D
Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA. dboneka1@jhmi.edu
Smith
Mari A
MA
Zhu
He
H
Barker
Peter B
PB
D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000032:analysis*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents