Numerical simulation of PRESS localized MR spectroscopy.

Numerical simulations of NMR spectra can provide a rapid and convenient method for optimizing acquisition sequence parameters and generating prior spectral information required for parametric spectral analysis. For spatially resolved spectroscopy, spatially dependent variables affect the resultant spectral amplitudes and phases, which must therefore be taken into account in any spectral simulation model. In this study, methods for numerical simulation of spectra obtained using the PRESS localization pulse sequence are examined. A comparison is made between three different simulation models that include different levels of detail regarding the spatial distributions of the excitation functions, and spin evolution during application of the pulses. These methods were evaluated for measurement of spectra from J-coupled spin systems that are of interest for in vivo proton spectroscopy and results compared with experimental data. It is demonstrated that for optimized refocusing pulses it is sufficient to account for chemical shift effects only, although there is some advantage to implementing a more general numerical simulation approach that includes information on RF pulse excitation profiles, which provides sufficient accuracy while maintaining moderate computational requirements and flexibility to handle different spin systems.

Volumetric proton spectroscopic imaging of mild traumatic brain injury.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Poor clinical outcomes without notable neuroimaging findings after mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) suggest diffuse tissue damage and altered metabolism not observable with conventional MR imaging and CT. In this study, MTBI-associated metabolic changes were assessed over the entire brain by using volumetric proton MR spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) and the findings related to injury and outcome assessments. METHODS: Fourteen subjects with mild closed head injury (Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS] scores of 13-15) underwent structural MR imaging and proton MRSI at 1.5 T within 1 month of injury. Distributions of N-acetylaspartate (NAA), total creatine (Cr), and total choline (Cho) were mapped over a wide region of the brain, and metabolite ratios were calculated for 25 regions without MR imaging abnormalities. Results were compared with data from 13 control subjects. RESULTS: Significant changes (P <.05) were found for some, but not all, brain regions for the average values from all MTBI subjects, with reduced NAA/Cr, increased Cho/Cr, and reduced NAA/Cho. Global NAA/Cho obtained from the sum of all sampled regions in two subjects was significantly reduced. Metabolite ratios were not significantly correlated with GCS score at admission or Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) score at 6 months after injury, although they were weakly correlated with GOS score at discharge. CONCLUSION: These results show evidence of widespread metabolic changes following MTBI in regions that appear normal on diagnostic MR images. Although the association with injury assessment and outcome is weak, this preliminary study demonstrates the applicability of volumetric proton MRSI for evaluating diffuse injury associated with MTBI.

Comparison of inversion recovery preparation schemes for lipid suppression in 1H MRSI of human brain.

To reduce contamination from subcutaneous lipid regions in MR spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) of whole brain, lipid signals are often suppressed using T(1) nulling methods. If a range of lipid T(1) values is present, the suppression efficiency will be improved using multiple inversion recovery (MIR) preparation. This study compared single IR (SIR) and double IR (DIR) applied with a volumetric MRSI sequence at 1.5 T based on experimental measurement of lipid T(1) and T(2) relaxation rates. At short and medium echo times (TEs), an approximately 28-47% improvement in lipid suppression was achieved with DIR compared to SIR. However, it also led to a loss of 37-43% in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for metabolites. Thus, SIR appears to be the better choice for suppressing lipid signals and maintaining metabolite sensitivity.