Perfusion imaging is a promising application for hyperpolarized tracers, as they provide high signal with no endogenous background. Hyperpolarized 13C labeled tert-butanol is a perfusion agent with long T1 and T2 relaxation times in vivo. Moreover, because it diffuses freely through tissue, bolus injections of tert-butanol are largely extracted from the vasculature on a first pass, and the residence time in tissue is on the order of tens of seconds. This provides a long time frame for dynamic imaging. Here we demonstrate the feasibility of time-resolved 3D cardiac perfusion imaging in rats.
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