Yi-Fen Yen1, Patrick Le Roux2,
Dirk Mayer3,4, Atsushi Takahashi1, James Tropp1,
Dan Spielman3, Adolf Pfefferbaum4,5, Ralph Hurd1
1Global Applied Science Laboratory, GE
Healthcare, Menlo Park, CA, United States; 2Global Applied Science
Laboratory, GE Healthcare, France; 3Radiology, Stanford
University, Stanford, CA, United States; 4Neuroscience Program,
SRI International, Menlo Park, CA, United States; 5Psychiatry and
Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
We
explored the feasibility of a multi-shot non-CPMG sequence for hyperpolarized
13C metabolic imaging. The sequence is designed to stabilize the longitudinal
magnetization while keeping the transverse magnetization refocused,
permitting echo-train readouts following multiple low-flip-angle excitations.
Thus, acquisition strategies can be developed to take advantage of the long
T1 and T2 relaxation times of hyperpolarized 13C metabolites. We demonstrate
two of the potential applications, 2D T2 mapping and 3D MR spectroscopic
imaging, on 13C phantoms and animals with hyperpolarized 13C-pyruvate
injections.