Abstract #2129

In Vivo Sodium Imaging and Relaxometry of the Breast at 3T

Ernesto Staroswiecki^1,2, Anderson Nnewihe^1,3, Neal Kepler Bangerter^4,5, Bruce Lewis Daniel¹, Brian Andrew Hargreaves¹

¹Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA; ²Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA; ³Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA; ⁴Electrical and Computer Engineering, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA; ⁵Radiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

Sodium MRI shows promise for breast imaging, since it does not require an exogenous contrast, and sodium signal in tumors differs from healthy glandular tissue. Sodium relaxation parameters could show differences in the lesions, and also allow sequence optimization. We show a protocol to acquire high-resolution in vivo sodium images and sodium T1 and T2* maps of glandular breast tissue at 3T, with corrections for the B1 profile of the coil. We also present preliminary results showing both the sodium signal intensity and the sodium T2* elevated values in areas corresponding to tumors when compared to healthy glandular tissue.