Improved spatial resolution for in vivo deuterium metabolic imaging using 2H 3D-FID-MRSI with concentric ring trajectories.

Motivation: Sufficiently high spatial resolution for metabolic mapping of brain glucose metabolism is crucial as regional differences are present in many severe brain diseases, such as dementia, tumors and schizophrenia. Goal(s): To increase spatial resolution for whole brain deuterium metabolic imaging without prolonging scan times. Approach: Implement density-weighted concentric ring trajectory for 2H FID-MRSI readout to achieve 2.5-fold increase in spatial resolution while maintaining sufficient SNR. Results: Contrast-enhanced metabolic maps were acquired using CRT with significantly higher (+33%,p<0.01) Glx concentrations in GM regions compared to WM, while no differences were observed using lower resolution phase-encoded MRSI. Impact: Increased spatial resolution for dynamic deuterium metabolic imaging is crucially needed as many severe brain pathologies feature regional differences in brain glucose metabolism. However, prolonged scan times ultimately limit the achievable spatial resolution using conventional methods for whole brain DMI.