Abstract #1613

Chemical Exchange and in vivo Intervertebral Disc R1-Rho Dispersion Imaging: A Feasibility Study

Qi Liu¹, Zhaoyang Fan¹, Yutaka Natsuaki², Ning Jin³, Wafa Tawackoli¹, Gadi Pelled¹, Dan Gazit¹, Debiao Li¹

¹Biomedical Imaging Research Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, United States; ²Siemens Healthcare, Los Angeles, CA, United States; ³Siemens Medical Solutions, Columbus, OH, United States

In this study we 1) developed a novel pulse sequence for IVD R1ρ dispersion imaging in vivo, 2) explored the relationship between R1ρ dispersion and pH and concentration in a GAG phantom that mimics IVD composition, and 3) demonstrated the feasibility of the above method on healthy volunteers. Results indicate the proposed method is a promising technique, and has the potential to image important disease biomarkers such as GAG concentration and pH value.