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¹H MR Spectroscopy of the Brain: Absolute Quantification of Metabolites¹

¹ From the Department of Radiology, Maastricht University Hospital, P. Debyelaan 25, 6202 AZ Maastricht, the Netherlands; and Biomedical NMR, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Address correspondence to J.F.A.J. (e-mail: j.f.a.jansen{at}tue.nl).

Hydrogen 1 (¹H) magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy enables noninvasive in vivo quantification of metabolite concentrations in the brain. Currently, metabolite concentrations are most often presented as ratios (eg, relative to creatine) rather than as absolute concentrations. Despite the success of this approach, it has recently been suggested that relative quantification may introduce substantial errors and can lead to misinterpretation of spectral data and to erroneous metabolite values. The present review discusses relevant methods to obtain absolute metabolite concentrations with a clinical MR system by using single-voxel spectroscopy or chemical shift imaging. Important methodological aspects in an absolute quantification strategy are addressed, including radiofrequency coil properties, calibration procedures, spectral fitting methods, cerebrospinal fluid content correction, macromolecule suppression, and spectral editing. Techniques to obtain absolute concentrations are now available and can be successfully applied in clinical practice. Although the present review is focused on ¹H MR spectroscopy of the brain, a large part of the methodology described can be applied to other tissues as well.

© RSNA, 2006

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