Abstract #0478

Hyperpolarized Water as an MRI Contrast Agent: Feasibility of in vivo Imaging in a Rat Model

Mark David Lingwood¹,², Ting Ann Siaw³, Napapon Sailasuta⁴, Osama A. Abulseoud⁵, Henry R. Chan⁴, Brian D. Ross⁴, Pratip Bhattacharya⁴, Songi Han¹,³

¹Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States; ²Department of Chemistry, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, United States; ³Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States; ⁴Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Laboratory, Huntington Medical Research Institutes, Pasadena, CA, United States; ⁵Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States

In this presentation we demonstrate a new perfusion MRI technique that utilizes Overhauser dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) to provide authentic image contrast through the continuous delivery of contrast agent-free hyperpolarized water in rats. Water is hyperpolarized via Overhauser DNP at room temperature in the 0.35 T fringe field of a 1.5 T MRI magnet and then quickly transferred to the subject in the center of the same magnet for imaging. Images with hyperpolarized water show clearly enhanced flow contrast for all injection locations, demonstrating that this technique holds promise for localized angiography or brain perfusion studies.