Deuterium metabolic imaging (DMI) and hyperpolarized 13C-pyruvate MRI (HP-13C-MRI) are two promising approaches for non-invasive and non-ionizing imaging of tissue metabolism. Here we directly compare these two techniques at 3 T for the first time in humans. DMI using [6,6’-2H2]glucose, and 13C-MRI using hyperpolarized [1-13C]pyruvate, were undertaken in five healthy volunteers. The ratio of 13C-lactate/13C-bicarbonate (mean ±S.D. = 5.05 ±0.89) with HP-13C-MRI was higher than the equivalent 2H-lactate/2H-Glx ratio (0.43 ±0.19) with DMI, which can be explained by differences in tracer administration, subsequent timing of acquisition, and tissue physiology. The results demonstrate the two methods provide different yet complementary data.
This abstract and the presentation materials are available to members only; a login is required.