Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 6, 2026
Human Fetal Blood Flow Quantification with Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Motion Compensation
Published on: January 7, 2021
Improving Fetal Single-Voxel Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy With Spectral Registration
Andres Saucedo1, Qinqin Yang1, Ali Gholipour1,2
1Department of Radiological Sciences, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, USA.
Purpose:
To evaluate whether spectral registration improves spectral quality and quantification reliability in in vivo single-voxel fetal brain MRS: METHODS: Fourteen fetal PRESS datasets were acquired at 3 T at TE = 35 ms and TE = 135 ms. Raw data were processed with eddy-current phase correction, coil combination, spectral registration, and outlier rejection; spectra processed with eddy-current correction alone were treated as uncorrected. Corrected and uncorrected spectra were compared using LCModel quality metrics (SNR, FWHM, and CRLB), metabolite concentrations and ratios, and qualitative spectral assessment.
Results:
Spectral registration improved spectral appearance, with sharper peaks and reduced line broadening. SNR increased and FWHM decreased significantly at both echo times. At TE = 35 ms, pooled CRLB values decreased significantly after correction, and more estimates met CRLB thresholds, most notably for CRLB ≤ 50; corresponding CRLB improvements at TE = 135 ms were limited. No metabolite concentration comparison remained significant after false-discovery-rate correction, and only Glx/tCho at TE = 35 ms remained significant among metabolite ratios.
Conclusion:
Spectral registration improved fetal MRS spectral quality and modestly improved quantification reliability, with the clearest benefit at short TE. These findings support spectral registration as a practical retrospective processing step for motion-prone fetal MRS.
