Constrained Optimized Water Suppression (COWS) for Macromolecule Measurements with 1H Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Motivation: A new water suppression module optimized for both macromolecule detection and short repetition time sequences such as magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging. Goal(s): To have an efficient, flexible, water suppression algorithm where macromolecules can be measured. Approach: Single voxel localization by adiabatic selective refocusing (semi-LASER) measurement of macromolecules were conducted in the prefrontal cortex, posterior frontal (PFL) and occipital lobes. Both VAPOR and the customizable water suppression (COWS) algorithm were performed for each experiment. Results: Both WS methods performed well with residual water signals below the 2.01-ppm NAA singlet signals. COWS demonstrated better water suppression than VAPOR overall, especially in the PFL. Impact: A new customizable water suppression algorithm, COWS, was tested in vivo for improved efficiency and speed when compared to the gold standard (VAPOR).