Abstract #0537

Simultaneous Measurement Carbon-13 MR Spin-Relaxation, Diffusion, and Kinetic Parameters

Christine Leon¹, Cornelius Von Morze¹, Bertram Koelsch¹, Adam B. Kerr², Robert A. Bok³, John M. Pauly², John Kurhanewicz¹, Daniel B. Vigneron¹, Peder E.Z. Larson¹

¹Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States; ²Magnetic Resonance Systems Research Laboratory, Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States; ³Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy of hyperpolarized substrates provides a powerful tool to investigate metabolism. Recently, we showed that the T_1,Eff of lactate was significantly shorter in tumors suggesting a different cellular environment, in addition to increased K_{Pyr→Lac} using MAD-STEAM. However, the measurement of the T_1,Eff is a combination of diffusion and spin-relaxation. We modified the MAD-STEAM pulse sequence to include varying gradient strengths to separate diffusion weighting from T₁ relaxation effects. This new method allows for measurements of ADCs and T₁s values in addition to multiple rates of conversion, simultaneously, providing further biological information about the cellular environment of the metabolites.