Deuterium NMR cerebral imaging in Situ

Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging of deuterium is demonstrated in cat brain in vivo and in situ at 4.7 T magnetic field strength. Images were acquired at 4–5% deuterium enrichment, using D 2 O as a nuclear spin label, with as little as 10‐s time resolution. This suggests the potential application of D 2 O as an exogenous MRI label for quantitative flow imaging or contrast enhancement. The efficient quadrupolar relaxation mechanism of the deuterium nuclide results in a short ca. 250 ms spin–lattice relaxation time ( T 1 ). This allows for rapid signal averaging, thus increasing signal‐to‐noise in the deuterium image. Additionally, three widely dispersed deuterium spin–spin relaxation times ( T 2 ) are observed of ca. 10, 40, and 400 ms which provide high compartmental image contrast, thus yielding information of physiological as well as anatomical interest. T 2 ‐weighted deuterium cerebral images are presented showing marked tissue relaxation discrimination. © 1988 Academic Press, Inc.