Challenges for in-vivo hepatic GlycoNOE on human subjects at 7T

Motivation: The GlycoNOE technique promises advantages compared to GlycoCEST and spectroscopic methods for fast non-invasive determination of hepatic glycogen content on standard MRI systems. Goal(s): Establish a robust glycoNOE technique at 7T for hepatic glycogen quantification in humans. Approach: A single-voxel MRS technique was combined with CEST modules and tested in vitro and in human subjects together with standard 13C-MRS. Results: The method gave excellent results in vitro, but in vivo the failure rate was substantial and shows that further refinements of the method are needed to provide robust measurements of hepatic glycogen in human subjects, especially in pathological conditions. Impact: The GlycoNOE technique promises advantages compared to GlycoCEST and spectroscopic methods for determining hepatic glycogen content in vivo. Lack of robustness as implemented for a combined CEST-spectroscopy technique hinders its use in humans.