Abstract #1782

Automated-Shim Approach to Facilitate 1H-MRS in Mouse Hearts In Vivo

Jurgen E. Schneider¹, Hannah Barnes¹, Stefan Neubauer¹, Peter Jezzard²

¹Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxon, UK; ²FMRIB Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxon, UK

Good magnetic field homogeneity is essential for in vivo ¹H-MRS, but is particularly difficult to achieve in the heart. We implemented an automated cardiac shim approach in mice at 9.4T to aid routine metabolic phenotype characterization of normal and genetically modified mouse hearts at ultra-high magnetic fields. We demonstrated in this pilot study that the automated approach reproducibly optimized the B₀-field and subsequently allowed for a successful detection of cardiac ¹H-metabolites. Our work represents an important step towards increased ease, user-friendliness and applicability of cardiac MRS in vivo.