Abstract #2001

Quantification of Relaxation Times of Metabolite Resonance in Intervertebral Disc Using MR Spectroscopy

Jin Zuo¹, Xiaojuan Li¹, Sharmila Majumdar¹

¹Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

Intervertebral disc degeneration related back pain is a leading health problem. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy is a powerful non-invasive tool to assess metabolites in tissues. In planning the data acquisition parameters for using MRS to determine the status of disc degeneration, it is important to consider how to select TR and TE that will emphasize the contrast between metabolites in disc. The optimal TR and TE are determined by T1 and T2. The aim of this study was to evaluate T1 and T2 metabolite relaxation times in intervertebral disc using a single-voxel MRS technique.