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Abstract #0492

Simultaneous Detection of Unobstructed Glutamate and Glutamine Using Standard STEAM with Optimized Sequence Parameters at 3, 4, 4.7, 7, and 9.4 Tesla - A Simulation Study

Yang S, Yang Y, Stein E, Hu J
National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH

The Glutamate (Glu) and Glutamine (Gln) signals in one-dimensional 1H MR spectra usually overlap around 2.3-2.5 ppm, particularly at low field strengths. Various techniques have been developed for reliable detection and quantification of these compounds. A recent report proposed simultaneous detection of Glu and Gln (and GABA) using standard STEAM spectroscopy at 4T. The basic idea was to find optimal sequence parameters, at which the individual Glu and Gln signals around 2.3-2.5 ppm appeared as pseudo-singlets, thus minimizing the signal overlap. In this study we examine the feasibility of the idea at various field strengths.