A new approach to Z ‐spectrum acquisition: prospective baseline enhancement (PROBE) for CEST/Nuclear Overhauser Effect

Purpose To develop a prospective baseline enhancement that compensates for intermingled background effects in Z ‐spectra to achieve sensitivity enhancement of peaks related to CEST and nuclear Overhauser effect. Methods An MRI sequence–specific compensation of background effects is achieved through variation of the pulsed saturation power, ω 1 , max , with the chemical shift, δ . After a “scout acquisition” of a standard Z ‐spectrum, the background is modeled through an appropriate spin system. Subsequently, an optimization procedure yieldsω 1 , m a x( δ )values that compensate for background contributions yielding a flat baseline. Contributions from metabolites not considered in the optimization procedure are enhanced as distinct perturbations to the baseline. For experimental verification, mapping of the lactate concentration in the presence of cross‐linked bovine serum albumin was performed in phantoms at 7 T. As proof of concept, explorative experiments were performed in healthy human subjects at 3 T. Results Nuisance contributions from direct water saturation, macromolecular magnetization transfer, and exchanging background protons were successfully removed from the Z ‐spectrum in phantoms and in brain tissue. The lactate methyl, methine, and hydroxyl peaks were readily observable in vitro. The peak areas correlated linearly with known concentrations. Improvement of the detection limit was achieved by a sparse distribution of saturation frequencies, allowing for more efficient signal averaging. Conclusion An optimization framework for high‐resolution metabolite mapping by means of CEST/nuclear Overhauser effect was developed. It offers full flexibility to select spin‐pool moieties, whose influence on the Z‐spectrum will be compensated. Deviations from this background model will provide a contrast at the respective offset frequencies.