Combining multi-echo and phase cycling in bSSFP acquisition to improve whole-brain deuterium metabolic imaging at 9.4 T

Motivation: Deuterium metabolic imaging could significantly impact the field of neuro-oncology by providing clinical quantitative metabolic information. Goal(s): To improve the spatial resolution of human deuterium metabolic imaging at 9.4 T. Approach: We performed phantom and in vivo experiments with oral intake of deuterated glucose using multi-echo phase-cycled bSSFP acquisitions. The results were compared with a standard 3D spectroscopy sequence. Results: We achieved higher spatial resolution compared to a 3D spectroscopy sequence. Phase cycling improved the reliability of the metabolite quantification especially in the large off-resonance and low SNR regimes. Impact: We present an improved whole-brain dynamic deuterium metabolic imaging strategy at 9.4 T using bSSFP with multiple echoes and phase cycling. The efficacy of this method is validated with phantom and in vivo experiments along with standard spectroscopy measurements.