IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCALIZED PROTON NMR-SPECTROSCOPY OF HUMAN BRAIN - WATER SUPPRESSION, SHORT ECHO TIMES, AND 1-ML RESOLUTION

Considerable technical improvements are reported for localized proton NMR spectroscopy using stimulated echoes. When compared to previous results, proton NMR spectra of the human brain are now obtainable (i) with in vivo water suppression factors of ≥1000, (ii) with only minor T2 losses and negligible distortions due to J modulation at short echo times of 10-20 ms, and (iii) from volumes of interest as small as 1-8 ml within measuring times of 1-10 min. As a consequence, the detection of cerebral metabolites is greatly facilitated. This particularly applies to the assignment of those resonances (e.g., glutamate, taurine, inositols) that suffer from strong spin-spin coupling at the field strengths commonly in use for NMR in man. Studies of regional metabolite differences, tissue heterogeneity, and focal lesions in patients benefit from the increased spatial resolution and a concomitant reduction of partial volume effects. Localized proton NMR spectroscopy was performed on young healthy volunteers. Experiments were carried out on a 2.0 T whole-body MRI/MRS system using the standard headcoil for both imaging and spectroscopy. © 1990.