Map-based B₀ shimming for single voxel brain spectroscopy at 7T

While B₀ shimming is an important requirement for in vivo brain spectroscopy, for single voxel spectroscopy (SVS), the role for advanced shim methods has been questioned. Specifically, with the small spatial dimensions of the voxel, the extent to which inhomogeneities higher than second order exist and the ability of higher order shims to correct them is controversial. To assess this, we acquired SVS from two loci of neurophysiological interest, the rostral prefrontal cortex (rPFC; 8 cc) and hippocampus (Hc; 9 cc). The rPFC voxel was placed using SUsceptibility Managed Optimization (SUMO) and an initial B₀ map that covers the entire cerebrum to cerebellum. In each location, we compared map-based shimming (Bolero) with projection-based shimming (FAST(EST)MAP). We also compared vendor-provided spherical harmonic first- and second-order shims with additional third- and fourth-order shim hardware. The 7T SVS acquisition used stimulated echo acquisition mode (STEAM) TR/TM/TE of 6 s/20 ms/8 ms, a tissue water acquisition for concentration reference, and LCModel for spectral analysis. In the rPFC (n = 7 subjects), Bolero shimming with first- and second-order shims reduced the residual inhomogeneity ${\sigma }_{B0}$ from 9.8 ± 4.5 Hz with FAST(EST)MAP to 6.5 ± 2.0 Hz. The addition of third- and fourth-order shims further reduced ${\sigma }_{B0}$ to 4.0 ± 0.8 Hz. In the Hc (n = 7 subjects), FAST(EST)MAP, Bolero with first- and second-order shims, and Bolero with first- to fourth-order shims achieved ${\sigma }_{B0}$ values of 8.6 ± 1.9, 5.6 ± 1.0, and 4.6 ± 0.9 Hz, respectively. The spectral linewidth, ${\Delta v}_{\sigma B0}$ , was estimated with a Voigt lineshape using ${\sigma }_{B0}$ and T2 = 130 ms. ${\Delta v}_{\sigma B0}$ significantly correlated with the Cramer-Rao lower bounds and concentrations of several metabolites, including glutamate and glutamine in the rPFC. In both loci, if the B₀ distribution is well described by a Gaussian model, the variance of the metabolite concentrations is reduced, consistent with the LCModel fit based on a unimodal lineshape. Overall, the use of the high order and map-based B₀ shim methods improved the accuracy and consistency of spectroscopic data.