Abstract #0183

A New, Polynomial-Based (PARA)CEST Analysis Method with B0 Correction and Increased Sensitivity

Lan Lu¹, Tejas Shah², Mark A. Griswold^1,2, Chris A. Flask^1,2

¹Radiology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA; ²Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer (CEST) MRI is rapidly becoming a popular tool for many in vivo imaging applications. However, the analysis of CEST imaging data has been limited for many studies which have utilized simple 2-point subtraction techniques to quantify the CEST effect which is susceptible to significant errors from both B0 and B1 variation. We have developed a new polynomial fitting technique to quantify the chemical exchange from CEST spectra. This new polynomial fitting technique allows for accurate B0 correction and is inherently less sensitive to experimental factors, such as B1 variation, that can broaden the CEST peaks.