Towards brain blood metabolite measurement using MRS with pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling

Motivation: Single voxel spectroscopy allows us to measure the metabolite signal within a voxel in the brain. There are strides to mathematically segment this signal based on tissue type: grey matter, white matter, and cerebral spinal fluid. However, blood is also an important component to this signal as the brain is heavily vascularized. Goal(s): We wish to better understand the MR signal contribution coming from blood in the brain. Approach: Borrowing from imaging-based pCASL, we’ve combined the RF tagging pulse train to a standard PRESS sequence, creating SVS-pCASL. Results: With our preliminary testing, we observed an ASL effect on the unsuppressed water signal. Impact: MRS provides us with useful information regarding the metabolite signals. However, one key component is overlooked, blood. Combining pCASL RF tagging with PRESS to create SVS-pCASL, our preliminary results show an ASL effect on unsuppressed water signal in the brain.