A typical observation in hyperpolarized 13C cardiac imaging is that the bicarbonate images are not circumferential, near the apex, even in healthy subjects, which precludes interrogation of metabolism in the posterior myocardium. A common explanation for the signal drop-off is anterior receive coil sensitivity. In this abstract, we demonstrate that this is not necessarily the case. A significant source of reduced signal results from B0 inhomogeneity in the posterior wall. Shortened readout durations which achieve higher kmax are shown to enable high resolution imaging of the circumferential bicarbonate distribution in pigs.
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