(19)F MRSI of capecitabine in the liver at 7 T using broadband transmit-receive antennas and dual-band RF pulses.

Capecitabine (Cap) is an often prescribed chemotherapeutic agent, successfully used to cure some patients from cancer or reduce tumor burden for palliative care. However, the efficacy of the drug is limited, it is not known in advance who will respond to the drug and it can come with severe toxicity. (19)F Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Imaging (MRSI) have been used to non-invasively study Cap metabolism in vivo to find a marker for personalized treatment. In vivo detection, however, is hampered by low concentrations and the use of radiofrequency (RF) surface coils limiting spatial coverage. In this work, the use of a 7T MR system with radiative multi-channel transmit-receive antennas was investigated with the aim of maximizing the sensitivity and spatial coverage of (19)F detection protocols. The antennas were broadband optimized to facilitate both the (1)H (298 MHz) and (19)F (280 MHz) frequencies for accurate shimming, imaging and signal combination. B1(+) simulations, phantom and noise measurements showed that more than 90% of the theoretical maximum sensitivity could be obtained when using B1(+) and B1(-) information provided at the (1)H frequency for the optimization of B1(+) and B1(-) at the (19)F frequency. Furthermore, to overcome the limits in maximum available RF power, whilst ensuring simultaneous excitation of all detectable conversion products of Cap, a dual-band RF pulse was designed and evaluated. Finally, (19)F MRS(I) measurements were performed to detect (19)F metabolites in vitro and in vivo. In two patients, at 10 h (patient 1) and 1 h (patient 2) after Cap intake, (19)F metabolites were detected in the liver and the surrounding organs, illustrating the potential of the set-up for in vivo detection of metabolic rates and drug distribution in the body.

High-field MRS of the human brain at short TE and TR.

In vivo MRS of the human brain at 7 tesla allows identification of a large number of metabolites at higher spatial resolutions than currently possible at lower field strengths. However, several challenges complicate in vivo localization and artifact suppression in MRS at high spatial resolution within a clinically feasible scan time at 7 tesla. Published MRS sequences at 7 tesla suffer from long echo times, inherent signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) loss, large chemical shift displacement artifacts or long repetition times because of excessive radiofrequency (RF) power deposition. In the present study a pulse-acquire sequence was used that does not suffer from these high field drawbacks. A slice selective excitation combined with high resolution chemical shift imaging for in-plane localization was used to limit chemical shift displacement artifacts. The pulse-acquire approach resulted in a very short echo time of 1.4 ms. A cost function guided shimming algorithm was developed to constrain frequency offsets in the excited slice, therefore adiabatic frequency selective suppression could be employed to minimize artifacts from high intensity lipids and water signals in the excited slice. The high sensitivity at a TR of 1 s was demonstrated both on a supraventricular slice as well as in an area very close to the skull in the frontal cortex at a nominal spatial resolution of 0.25 cc within a feasible scan time.

Multispectral 3D phase-encoded turbo spin-echo for imaging near metal: Limitations and possibilities demonstrated by simulations and phantom experiments.

To see improvements in the imaging performance near biomaterial implants we assessed a multispectral fully phase-encoded turbo spin-echo (ms3D-PE-TSE) sequence for artifact reduction capabilities and scan time efficiency in simulation and phantom experiments. For this purpose, ms3D-PE-TSE and ms3D-TSE sequences were implemented to obtain multispectral images (±20kHz) of a cobalt-chromium (CoCr) knee implant embedded in agarose. In addition, a knee implant computer model and the acquired ms3D-PE-TSE images were used to investigate the possibilities for scan time acceleration using field-of-view (FOV) reduction for off-resonance frequency bins and compressed sensing reconstructions of undersampled data. Both acceleration methods were combined to acquire a +10kHz frequency bin in a second experiment. The obtained ms3D-PE-TSE images showed no susceptibility related artifacts, while ms3D-TSE images suffered from hyper-intensity artifacts. The limitations of ms3D-TSE were apparent in the far off-resonance regions (±[10-20]kHz) located close to the implant. The scan time calculations showed that ms3D-PE-TSE can be applied in a clinically relevant timeframe (~12min), when omitting the three central frequency bins. The feasibility of CS acceleration for ms3D-PE-TSE was demonstrated using retrospective reconstructions before combining CS and rFOV imaging to decrease the scan time for the +10kHz frequency bin from ~10.9min to ~3.5min, while also increasing the spatial resolution fourfold. The temporally resolved signal of ms3D-PE-TSE proved to be useful to decrease the intensity ripples after sum-of-squares reconstructions and increase the signal-to-noise ratio. The presented results suggest that the scan time limitations of ms3D-PE-TSE can be sufficiently addressed when focusing on signal acquisitions in the direct vicinity of metal implants. Because these regions cannot be measured with existing multispectral methods, the presented ms3D-PE-TSE method may enable the detection of inflammation or (pseudo-)tumors in locations close to the implant.

Geometrically undistorted MRI in the presence of field inhomogeneities using compressed sensing accelerated broadband 3D phase encoded turbo spin-echo imaging.

In this study, we explore the potential of compressed sensing (CS) accelerated broadband 3D phase-encoded turbo spin-echo (3D-PE-TSE) for the purpose of geometrically undistorted imaging in the presence of field inhomogeneities. To achieve this goal 3D-PE-SE and 3D-PE-TSE sequences with broadband rf pulses and dedicated undersampling patterns were implemented on a clinical scanner. Additionally, a 3D multi-spectral spin-echo (ms3D-SE) sequence was implemented for reference purposes. First, we demonstrated the influence of susceptibility induced off-resonance effects on the spatial encoding of broadband 3D-SE, ms3D-SE, 3D-PE-SE and 3D-PE-TSE using a grid phantom containing a titanium implant (Δχ = 182 ppm) with x-ray CT as a gold standard. These experiments showed that the spatial encoding of 3D-PE-(T)SE was unaffected by susceptibility induced off-resonance effects, which caused geometrical distortions and/or signal hyper-intensities in broadband 3D-SE and, to a lesser extent, in ms3D-SE frequency encoded methods. Additionally, an SNR analysis was performed and the temporally resolved signal of 3D-PE-(T)SE sequences was exploited to retrospectively decrease the acquisition bandwidth and obtain field offset maps. The feasibility of CS acceleration was studied retrospectively and prospectively for the 3D-PE-SE sequence using an existing CS algorithm adapted for the reconstruction of 3D data with undersampling in all three phase encoded dimensions. CS was combined with turbo-acceleration by variable density undersampling and spherical stepwise T2 weighting by randomly sorting consecutive echoes in predefined spherical k-space layers. The CS-TSE combination resulted in an overall acceleration factor of 60, decreasing the original 3D-PE-SE scan time from 7 h to 7 min. Finally, CS accelerated 3D-PE-TSE in vivo images of a titanium screw were obtained within 10 min using a micro-coil demonstrating the feasibility of geometrically undistorted MRI near severe field inhomogeneities.

On the utility of spectroscopic imaging as a tool for generating geometrically accurate MR images and parameter maps in the presence of field inhomogeneities and chemical shift effects.

Lack of spatial accuracy is a recognized problem in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) which severely detracts from its value as a stand-alone modality for applications that put high demands on geometric fidelity, such as radiotherapy treatment planning and stereotactic neurosurgery. In this paper, we illustrate the potential and discuss the limitations of spectroscopic imaging as a tool for generating purely phase-encoded MR images and parameter maps that preserve the geometry of an object and allow localization of object features in world coordinates. Experiments were done on a clinical system with standard facilities for imaging and spectroscopy. Images were acquired with a regular spin echo sequence and a corresponding spectroscopic imaging sequence. In the latter, successive samples of the acquired echo were used for the reconstruction of a series of evenly spaced images in the time and frequency domain. Experiments were done with a spatial linearity phantom and a series of test objects representing a wide range of susceptibility- and chemical-shift-induced off-resonance conditions. In contrast to regular spin echo imaging, spectroscopic imaging was shown to be immune to off-resonance effects, such as those caused by field inhomogeneity, susceptibility, chemical shift, f(0) offset and field drift, and to yield geometrically accurate images and parameter maps that allowed object structures to be localized in world coordinates. From these illustrative examples and a discussion of the limitations of purely phase-encoded imaging techniques, it is concluded that spectroscopic imaging offers a fundamental solution to the geometric deficiencies of MRI which may evolve toward a practical solution when full advantage will be taken of current developments with regard to scan time reduction. This perspective is backed up by a demonstration of the significant scan time reduction that may be achieved by the use of compressed sensing for a simple phantom.

Multiple single-point imaging (mSPI) as a tool for capturing and characterizing MR signals and repetitive signal disturbances with high temporal resolution: the MRI scanner as a high-speed camera.

In this paper we aim to lay down and demonstrate the use of multiple single-point imaging (mSPI) as a tool for capturing and characterizing steady-state MR signals and repetitive disturbances thereof with high temporal resolution. To achieve this goal, various 2D mSPI sequences were derived from the nearest standard 3D imaging sequences by (i) replacing the excitation of a 3D slab by the excitation of a 2D slice orthogonal to the read axis, (ii) setting the readout gradient to zero, and (iii) leaving out the inverse Fourier transform in the read direction. The thus created mSPI sequences, albeit slow with regard to the spatial encoding part, were shown to result into a series of densely spaced 2D single-point images in the time domain enabling monitoring of the evolution of the magnetization with a high temporal resolution and without interference from any encoding gradients. The high-speed capabilities of mSPI were demonstrated by capturing and characterizing the free induction decays and spin echoes of substances with long T2s (>30 ms) and long and short T2*s (4 - >30 ms) and by monitoring the perturbation of the transverse magnetization by, respectively, a titanium cylinder, representing a static disturbance; a pulsed magnetic field gradient, representing a stimulus inherent to a conventional MRI experiment; and a pulsed electric current, representing an external stimulus. The results of the study indicate the potential of mSPI for assessing the evolution of the magnetization and, when properly synchronized with the acquisition, repeatable disturbances thereof with a temporal resolution that is ultimately limited by the bandwidth of the receiver, but in practice governed by the SNR of the experiment and the magnitude of the disturbance. Potential applications of mSPI can be envisaged in research areas that are concerned with MR signal behavior, MR system performance and MR evaluation of magnetically evoked responses.