Improved Detection of Target Metabolites in Brain Tumors with Intermediate TE High SNR and High Bandwidth Spin Echo Sequence at 5.0T

Motivation: challenges emerge at ultra-high fields when measuring metabolites using 1H-MRS. Goal(s): To investigate how well the high SNR and high bandwidth spin echo (HISE) technique performs at 5.0T for detecting target metabolites in brain tumors. Approach: 26 Subjects suspected of having brain tumors were enrolled. HISE and point-resolved spectroscopy (PRESS) single-voxel spectroscopy (SVS) scans were collected with a 5.0T clinical scanner with an intermediate echo time (TE=144ms). Results: HISE outperformed the clinical standard PRESS technique in detecting target metabolites of brain tumors at 5.0T, particularly Lac and Ala. Impact: In a recently developed whole-body 5.0T clinical scanner, the HISE technique has been demonstrated to be more preferable than PRESS for the clinical diagnosis of brain tumors.