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Purpose To compare several different optimization algorithms currently used for localized in vivo B0 shimming, and to introduce a novel, fast, and robust constrained regularized algorithm ( ConsTru) for this purpose. Methods Ten different optimization algorithms (including samples from both generic and dedicated least-squares solvers, and a novel constrained regularized inversion method) were implemented and compared for shimming in five different shimming volumes on 66 in vivo data sets from both 7 T and 9.4 T. The best algorithm was chosen to perform single-voxel spectroscopy at 9.4 T in the frontal cortex of the brain on 10 volunteers. Results The results of the performance tests proved that the shimming algorithm is prone to unstable solutions if it depends on the value of a starting point, and is not regularized to handle ill-conditioned problems. The ConsTru algorithm proved to be the most robust, fast, and efficient algorithm among all of the chosen algorithms. It enabled acquisition of spectra of reproducible high quality in the frontal cortex at 9.4 T. Conclusions For localized in vivo B0 shimming, the use of a dedicated linear least-squares solver instead of a generic nonlinear one is highly recommended. Among all of the linear solvers, the constrained regularized method ( ConsTru) was found to be both fast and most robust. Magn Reson Med 79:1145-1156, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Inhomogeneities of the main magnetic field cause line broadening and location-dependent frequency shifts in brain MRSI. These are often visible despite advanced B0 shimming. The purpose of this work is to propose an advanced B0 correction method that can easily be applied during postprocessing. Methods A target-driven overdiscrete reconstruction method previously introduced for MRSI is modified by dividing it into two steps. In a first step, an intermediate spectroscopic image with arbitrarily high resolution is generated, on which B0 correction is performed as an additional processing step based on an additionally acquired B0 map. This frequency-aligns metabolite peaks and destroys noise correlations between neighboring subvoxels. Second, the voxel is shaped by application of the spatial response target. The method was tested with simulated spectroscopic imaging data as well as in a series of MRSI data sets obtained from four healthy volunteers at 7T. Results A systematic gain in spectral signal-to-noise ratio is achieved, due to spatial averaging now occurring over peak aligned and noise decorrelated subvoxel spectra. At the same time, metabolite peak line widths are reduced. Conclusion In the presence of B0 inhomogeneities across the field of view, the proposed method offers the potential to improve spectral quality with only a minimal additional effort during acquisition. Magn Reson Med 77:44-56, 2017. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose To improve B0 shimming for applications in high- and ultrahigh-field magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Methods An existing image-based constrained B0 shimming algorithm was enhanced using two techniques: (1) A region of less interest was introduced to control B0 field inhomogeneities in the vicinity of the region of interest; (2) multiple sets of starting values were used for the fitting routine, to avoid 'getting trapped' in a local minimum of the optimization function. The influence of constraints during the fitting procedure, due to hardware limitations, on the B0 shim result was investigated. The performance of this algorithm was compared to other B0 shim algorithms for typical shim problems in head and body applications at 3T and 7T. Results Utilization of a weighted region of less interest lead to a significant gain in B0 homogeneity adjacent to the region of interest. The loss of B0 quality due to the enlarged total shim volume within the region of interest remained minimal, allowing for improved artifact reduction in magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging. Multiple sets of starting values and consideration of shim field constraints led to an additional gain in B0 shim quality. Conclusion The proposed algorithm allows for more flexible control of B0 inhomogeneities and, hence, enables gains in image and spectral quality for MR applications. Magn Reson Med 73:1370-1380, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose To substantially improve spatial localization in magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) accelerated by parallel imaging. This is important in order to make MRSI more reliable as a tool for clinical applications. Methods The sensitivity encoding acceleration technique with spatial overdiscretization is applied for the reconstruction of parallel MRSI. In addition, the spatial response function is optimized by minimizing its deviation from a previously chosen target function. This modified minimum-norm sensitivity encoding-MRSI reconstruction approach is applied in this article for in vivo pulse-acquire MRSI of human brain at 7T with simulated acceleration factors of 2, 4, and 9 as well as actual 4-fold accelerated MRSI. Results The sidelobes of the spatial response function are significantly suppressed, which reduces far-reaching voxel bleeding. At the same time, the major enlargement of the effective voxel size, which would be introduced by conventional k-space apodization methods, is largely avoided. Regularization allows for a practical trade-off between noise minimization, effective voxel size, and unaliasing. Although not aiming at increasing the nominal spatial resolution, a better spatial specificity is achieved. Conclusion Simultaneous suppression of short- and far-reaching voxel bleeding in MRSI is analyzed and reconstruction of highly accelerated parallel in vivo MRSI is demonstrated. Magn Reson Med 73:469-480, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluorine ( 19 F) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is severely limited by a low signal-to noise ratio (SNR), and tapping it for 19 F drug detection in vivo still poses a significant challenge. However, it bears the potential for label-free theranostic imaging. Recently, we detected the fluorinated dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) inhibitor teriflunomide (TF) noninvasively in an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS) using 19 F MR spectroscopy (MRS). In the present study, we probed distinct modifications to the CF 3 group of TF to improve its SNR. This revealed SF 5 as a superior alternative to the CF 3 group. The value of the SF 5 bioisostere as a 19 F MRI reporter group within a biological or pharmacological context is by far underexplored. Here, we compared the biological and pharmacological activities of different TF derivatives and their 19 F MR properties (chemical shift and relaxation times). The 19 F MR SNR efficiency of three MRI methods revealed that SF 5 -substituted TF has the highest 19 F MR SNR efficiency in combination with an ultrashort echo-time (UTE) MRI method. Chemical modifications did not reduce pharmacological or biological activity as shown in the in vitro dihydroorotate dehydrogenase enzyme and T cell proliferation assays. Instead, SF 5 -substituted TF showed an improved capacity to inhibit T cell proliferation, indicating better anti-inflammatory activity and its suitability as a viable bioisostere in this context. This study proposes SF 5 as a novel superior 19 F MR reporter group for the MS drug teriflunomide.

Purpose: To compare several different optimization algorithms currently used for localized in vivo B 0 shimming, and to introduce a novel, fast, and robust constrained regularized algorithm (ConsTru) for this purpose., Methods: Ten different optimization algorithms (including samples from both generic and dedicated least-squares solvers, and a novel constrained regularized inversion method) were implemented and compared for shimming in five different shimming volumes on 66 in vivo data sets from both 7 T and 9.4 T. The best algorithm was chosen to perform single-voxel spectroscopy at 9.4 T in the frontal cortex of the brain on 10 volunteers., Results: The results of the performance tests proved that the shimming algorithm is prone to unstable solutions if it depends on the value of a starting point, and is not regularized to handle ill-conditioned problems. The ConsTru algorithm proved to be the most robust, fast, and efficient algorithm among all of the chosen algorithms. It enabled acquisition of spectra of reproducible high quality in the frontal cortex at 9.4 T., Conclusions: For localized in vivo B 0 shimming, the use of a dedicated linear least-squares solver instead of a generic nonlinear one is highly recommended. Among all of the linear solvers, the constrained regularized method (ConsTru) was found to be both fast and most robust. Magn Reson Med 79:1145-1156, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine., (© 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.)

Conditions such as type II diabetes are linked with elevated lipid levels in the heart, and significantly increased risk of heart failure; however, metabolic processes underlying the development of cardiac disease in type II diabetes are not fully understood. Here we present a non-invasive method for in vivo investigation of cardiac lipid metabolism: namely, IVS-McPRESS. This technique uses metabolite-cycled, non-water suppressed 1 H cardiac magnetic resonance spectroscopy with prospective and retrospective motion correction. High-quality IVS-McPRESS data acquired from healthy volunteers allowed us to investigate the frequency shift of extramyocellular lipid signals, which depends on the myocardial fibre orientation. Assuming consistent voxel positioning relative to myofibres, the myofibre angle with the magnetic field was derived from the voxel orientation. For separation and individual analysis of intra- and extramyocellular lipid signals, the angle myocardial fibres in the spectroscopy voxel take with the magnetic field should be within ±24.5°. Metabolite and lipid concentrations were analysed with respect to BMI. Significant correlations between BMI and unsaturated fatty acids in intramyocellular lipids, and methylene groups in extramyocellular lipids were found. The proposed IVS-McPRESS technique enables non-invasive investigation of cardiac lipid metabolism and may thus be a useful tool to study healthy and pathological conditions.

Purpose: Inhomogeneities of the main magnetic field cause line broadening and location-dependent frequency shifts in brain MRSI. These are often visible despite advanced B 0 shimming. The purpose of this work is to propose an advanced B 0 correction method that can easily be applied during postprocessing., Methods: A target-driven overdiscrete reconstruction method previously introduced for MRSI is modified by dividing it into two steps. In a first step, an intermediate spectroscopic image with arbitrarily high resolution is generated, on which B 0 correction is performed as an additional processing step based on an additionally acquired B 0 map. This frequency-aligns metabolite peaks and destroys noise correlations between neighboring subvoxels. Second, the voxel is shaped by application of the spatial response target. The method was tested with simulated spectroscopic imaging data as well as in a series of MRSI data sets obtained from four healthy volunteers at 7T., Results: A systematic gain in spectral signal-to-noise ratio is achieved, due to spatial averaging now occurring over peak aligned and noise decorrelated subvoxel spectra. At the same time, metabolite peak line widths are reduced., Conclusion: In the presence of B 0 inhomogeneities across the field of view, the proposed method offers the potential to improve spectral quality with only a minimal additional effort during acquisition. Magn Reson Med 77:44-56, 2017. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., (© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Purpose: To substantially improve spatial localization in magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) accelerated by parallel imaging. This is important in order to make MRSI more reliable as a tool for clinical applications., Methods: The sensitivity encoding acceleration technique with spatial overdiscretization is applied for the reconstruction of parallel MRSI. In addition, the spatial response function is optimized by minimizing its deviation from a previously chosen target function. This modified minimum-norm sensitivity encoding-MRSI reconstruction approach is applied in this article for in vivo pulse-acquire MRSI of human brain at 7T with simulated acceleration factors of 2, 4, and 9 as well as actual 4-fold accelerated MRSI., Results: The sidelobes of the spatial response function are significantly suppressed, which reduces far-reaching voxel bleeding. At the same time, the major enlargement of the effective voxel size, which would be introduced by conventional k-space apodization methods, is largely avoided. Regularization allows for a practical trade-off between noise minimization, effective voxel size, and unaliasing. Although not aiming at increasing the nominal spatial resolution, a better spatial specificity is achieved., Conclusion: Simultaneous suppression of short- and far-reaching voxel bleeding in MRSI is analyzed and reconstruction of highly accelerated parallel in vivo MRSI is demonstrated., (© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)