Enabling SENSE accelerated 2D CSI for hyperpolarized carbon-13 imaging.

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Biophysics
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Background:

• Clinical translation of hyperpolarized (HP) carbon-13 (¹³C) metabolic imaging requires faster, robust techniques.
• Achieving high temporal resolution in HP ¹³C MRI without compromising spatial or spectral resolution is challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To accelerate HP ¹³C MRI using 2D Chemical Shift Imaging (CSI) combined with prospective undersampling and SENSitivity Encoding (SENSE) reconstruction.
• To demonstrate the feasibility of using sodium (²³Na) sensitivity maps for SENSE reconstruction of ¹³C CSI, overcoming the challenge of low ¹³C abundance.

Main Methods:

• Combined 2D CSI with prospective undersampling and SENSE reconstruction.
• Utilized pre-acquired sodium (²³Na) sensitivity maps for SENSE reconstruction of ¹³C CSI.
• Validated the technique in phantom studies and in vivo in pig kidneys.

Main Results:

• Achieved four-fold acceleration in HP ¹³C MRI with SENSE reconstruction using ²³Na sensitivity maps.
• Acquired high temporal resolution kidney spectra showing detailed metabolic arrival and decay curves.
• Generated metabolic ratio maps in pigs, demonstrating the potential for repeat metabolic measurements.

Conclusions:

• The developed method provides a robust and accelerated approach for HP ¹³C MRI.
• This technique enhances the capture of metabolic signals, aiding metabolite kinetic modeling and denoising.
• It simplifies comprehensive metabolic assessment, even with limited HP MRI expertise or unknown spectra.