Abstract #2237

Ammonia-weighted imaging by chemical exchange saturation transfer – MRI at 3 T

Helge Jörn Zöllner^1,2, Markus Butz¹, Gerald Kircheis³, Stefan Klinker⁴, Dieter Häussinger³, Benjamin Schmitt⁵, Alfons Schnitzler¹, and Hans-Jörg Wittsack²

¹Institute of Clincial Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany, ²Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany, ³Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectiology, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany, ⁴Institute of Physical Biology, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany, ⁵160 Herring Road, Siemens Healthcare Pty Ltd., Macquarie Park NSW 2113, Australia

Chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) is an advanced MR contrast, which is sensitive to metabolic parameters as pH or protein content. The present study shows the ammonia-sensitivity of amide proton CEST imaging at a fixed pH value. The in vivo applicability is tested in a population of patients suffering from hepatic encephalopathy (HE), which is linked to ammonia accumulation within the brain. In HE, the CEST signal is especially reduced within occipital and cerebral regions. This reduction may be related to increased ammonia levels in HE patients.

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