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An MR‐compatible bicycle ergometer for in‐magnet whole‐body human exercise testing
Author(s) -
Jeneson Jeroen A. L.,
Schmitz Joep P. J.,
Hilbers Peter A. J.,
Nicolay Klaas
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
magnetic resonance in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.696
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1522-2594
pISSN - 0740-3194
DOI - 10.1002/mrm.22179
Subject(s) - bicycle ergometer , magnet , cycle ergometer , computer science , nuclear magnetic resonance , medicine , physics , mechanical engineering , engineering , heart rate , blood pressure
An MR‐compatible ergometer was developed for in‐magnet whole‐body human exercise testing. Designed on the basis of conventional mechanically braked bicycle ergometers and constructed from nonferrous materials, the ergometer was implemented on a 1.5‐T whole‐body MR scanner. A spectrometer interface was constructed using standard scanner hardware, complemented with custom‐built parts and software to enable gated data acquisition during exercise. High‐quality 31 P NMR spectra were reproducibly obtained from the medial head of the quadriceps muscle of the right leg of eight healthy subjects during two‐legged high‐frequency pedaling (80 revolutions per minute) at three incremental workloads, including maximal. Muscle phosphocreatine content dropped 82%, from 32.2 ± 1.0 mM at rest to 5.7 ± 1.1 mM at maximal workload (mean ± standard error; n = 8), indicating that the majority of quadriceps motor units were recruited. The cardiovascular load of the exercise was likewise significant, as evidenced by heart rates of 150 (±10%) beats per minute, measured immediately afterward. As such, the newly developed MR bicycling exercise equipment offers a powerful new tool for clinical musculoskeletal and cardiovascular MR investigation. The basic design of the ergometer is highly generic and adaptable for application on a wide selection of whole‐body MR scanners. Magn Reson Med, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.