title: Uniform magnetization transfer in chemical exchange saturation transfer magnetic resonance imaging.
abstract: The development of chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) has led to the establishment of new contrast mechanisms in magnetic resonance imaging, which serve as enablers for advanced molecular imaging strategies. Macromolecules in tissues and organs often give rise to broad and asymmetric exchange effects, called magnetization transfer (MT) effects, which can mask the CEST contrast of interest. We show here that the saturation of these macromolecular pools simultaneously at two distinct frequencies can level out the asymmetric MT effects, thus allowing one to isolate the CEST effects in vivo. For the first time, clean CEST contrast for glycosaminoglycans (gagCEST) in cartilage in the human knee joint is presented. In addition, the method allows one to clearly demarcate glycosaminoglycan measurements from cartilage and synovial fluid regions. This uniform-MT CEST methodology has wide applicability in in vivo molecular imaging (such as brain, skeletal muscle, etc).
authors.affiliation: Quantitative Multinuclear Musculoskeletal Imaging Group, Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016, USA.
authors.forename: Jae-Seung
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Prodromos
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Parasoglou
authors.forename: Ding
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Alexej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jerschow
authors.forename: Ravinder R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Regatte
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002356:Cartilage / Q000378:metabolism; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000378:metabolism; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D057054:Molecular Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D013582:Synovial Fluid / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D006025:Glycosaminoglycans