Optimal IMCL/EMCL Peak Separation and Full Visibility of the Dipolar Coupled Cr CH3 Resonance in Human Tibialis Anterior Muscle at 7T

Hermien E. Kan¹, Maarten J. Versluis¹, Mark A. van Buchem¹, Andrew G. Webb¹

In ¹H MRS of skeletal muscle, signals for intra myocellular lipids (IMCL) and creatine can be poorly visible due to peak overlap dependent on the angle of the muscle fiber with respect to the external magnetic field. This results in challenges in the reliable determination of absolute concentrations of these compounds from the same voxel. In this work we show that at a field strength of 7T in the tibialis anterior muscle, both compounds are very well visible and quantifiable due to the increased spectral resolution.