In Vivo Reproducibility of tNOE of Human Brain Using Tx/Rx Coil at 3T

Motivation: Nuclear Overhauser Effect (NOE) is based on dipolar cross relaxation mechanism that enables the indirect detection of aliphatic protons via the water proton signal. This work focuses on determining the reproducibility of the transient-Nuclear-Overhauser-Effect (tNOE) of the healthy human brain at 3 Tesla. Goal(s): To establish reproducibility of tNOE in the brain regions of healthy subjects at 3T. Approach: We scanned three healthy subjects multiple times to determine inter-day reproducibility of tNOE on 3T. Results: The inter-subject coefficient of variations (CoV) of tNOE from GM and WM were 5.12% and 3.97%, respectively. The intra-subject tNOE CoV range for GM and WM was 0.24%-4.0%. Impact: This work will facilitate the use of tNOE at 3T to investigate macromolecular (lipid and proteins) derangements in different diseases with significantly reduced scan time and improved specificity compared to steady state NOE.