MR-oximetry with fat DESPOT

The R₁ relaxation rate of fat is a promising marker of tissue oxygenation. Existing techniques to map fat R₁ in MR-oximetry offer limited spatial coverage, require long scan times, or pulse sequences that are not readily available on clinical scanners. This work addresses these limitations with a 3D voxel-wise fat R₁ mapping technique for MR-oximetry based on a variable flip angle (VFA) approach at 3 T.

Varying levels of dissolved oxygen (O₂) were generated in a phantom consisting of vials of safflower oil emulsion, used to approximate human fat. Joint voxel-wise mapping of fat and water R₁ was performed with a two-compartment VFA model fitted to multi-echo gradient-echo magnitude data acquired at four flip angles, referred to as Fat DESPOT. Global R₁ was also calculated. Variations of fat, water, and global R₁ were investigated as a function of the partial pressure of O₂ (pO₂). Inversion-prepared stimulated echo magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used as the reference technique for R₁ measurements.

Fat R₁ from Fat DESPOT was more sensitive than water R₁ and global R₁ to variations in pO₂, consistent with previous studies performed with different R₁ mapping techniques. Fat R₁ sensitivity to pO₂ variations with Fat DESPOT (median O₂ relaxivity r_{1, O} = 1.57× 10^-3 s^-1 mmHg^-1) was comparable to spectroscopy-based measurements for methylene, the main fat resonance (median r_{1, O}= 1.80 × 10^-3 s^-1 mmHg^-1).

Fat and water R₁ can be measured on a voxel-wise basis using a two-component fit to multi-echo 3D VFA magnitude data in a clinically acceptable scan time. Fat and water R₁ measured with Fat DESPOT were sensitive to variations in pO₂. These observations suggest an approach to 3D in vivo MR oximetry.