Abstract #0427

In Vivo 31P Solid State MRI of Human Wrists: Short-T2 MRI using the Scanner 1H Channel<

Jerome L. Ackerman^1,2, Yaotang Wu^2,3, Timothy G. Reese^1,2, Haihui Cao^2,3, Mirko I. Hrovat⁴, Steven P. Toddes⁵, Rostislav A. Lemdiasov⁵

¹Martinos Center, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA; ²Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; ³Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; ⁴Mirtech, Inc., Brockton, MA; ⁵InsightMRI, Inc., Leominster, MA, USA

Solid state MRI requires fast recovery of the scanner receiver in order to capture short T₂ signals with good fidelity. To circumvent the unacceptably long ³¹P receiver recovery time of a clinical scanner, we developed a frequency converter utilizing the fast recovery of the proton channel to acquire solid state ³¹P images of high quality. In effect, a special RF front end is interposed between the scanner and the ³¹P RF coil. Isotropic 3D ³¹P images of the bones of the wrists of volunteers were obtained with SNR ~30 in typically 37 min at 3T, exhibiting spatial resolution of ~5mm.