Wolfgang Bogner1, Marek Chmelik2, Albrecht Ingo Schmid2, Ewald Moser, Siegfried Trattnig1, Stephan Gruber1
1Radiology, MR Center of Excellence, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria; 2Karl-Landsteiner Institute for Endocrinology and Metabolism, Vienna, Austria
Phosphorus (31P) MR spectroscopy is a useful tool for non-invasive investigations of human muscle metabolism under various physiological and pathological conditions. In order to optimize measurement parameters (TR, TE) of spectroscopy sequences and for absolute quantification of metabolitesaccurate knowledge of T1 and T2 are necessary. Relaxation times may vary for different metabolites and with the magnetic field strength (B0). With the advent of 7 Tesla systems the need for accurate relaxation times of 31P metabolites will evolve. Our results found for T1 times at 7T are similar to those reported previously at 3T and below. However, a decrease in T2 values can be observed. The method is considerably robust to B1 inhomogeneities and easily applicable to other parts of the body.