title: [MR spectroscopy of amygdala: space saturation technique improves spectral quality].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the effect of space saturation technique on the quality of proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1 H-MRS) for amygdala.
  
  
  METHODS
  22 healthy volunteers were enrolled and scanned at a 3.0T MR scanner. Single voxel H-MRS of amygdala with and without space saturation bands around the region of interest was performed using point-resolved spectroscopy series (PRESS, TR/TE = 1500/30 ms). Raw spectral data were processed and signal-to-noise ratio of creatine (Cr-SNR), water-suppression level, full width at half maximum (FWHM) and root mean square (RMS) noise were obtained and compared between groups with and without saturation bands.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The Cr-SNR of spectra without and with saturation bands was 15.506 +/- 6.623 and 22.935 +/- 7.270, respectively [increased by (47.9% +/- 24.94%), P < 0.001]. The water-suppression level of spectra without and with saturation bands was (93.888% +/- 1.079%) and (95.722% +/- 0.461%), respectively [increased by (1.95% +/- 0.68%), P < 0.001]. The FWHM of spectra without and with saturation bands was 7.00 +/- 1.113 and 6.82 +/- 1.181, respectively [decreased by (2.57% +/- 1.12%), P > 0.053. The RMS noise of spectra without and with saturation bands was 0.606 +/- 0.0615 and 0.589 +/- 0.0470, respectively [reduced by (2.81% +/- 1.68%), P > 0.053.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Application of space saturation technique significantly elevates the Cr-SNR and the water-suppression level, and thus improves the spectral quality of amygdala without additional scanning time.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
authors.forename: He-han
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yue
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Qi-yong
authors.initials: QY
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Su
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lü
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Song
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000679:Amygdala / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D016477:Artifacts; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated / Q000592:standards; D011786:Quality Control; D013057:Spectrum Analysis; D055815:Young Adult