An Integrated 1H/2H Multichannel Head Coil for Improved Deuterium Metabolic Imaging

Motivation: To improve deuterium metabolic imaging (DMI) sensitivity at 3T. Goal(s): Characterize and test an 8Ch 1H / 16Ch 2H head coil. Approach: Deuterium (2H) CSI data were acquired with the 8Ch 1H / 16Ch 2H head coil and compared to a 1H/2H quadrature volume transceiver in one water phantom. DMI data were also acquired in one patient with glioblastoma after administering 2H-glucose. Results: SNR images demonstrated the deuterium 16Ch coil improves SNR by 2.5-fold at the periphery and 1.6-fold at the phantom center relative to 1H/2H quadrature coil. Glioma patient data demonstrated improved SNR, highlighting localized reduction in Glx and resolvable lactate signal. Impact: Improved SNR in 3T DMI with an integrated 1H/2H multichannel array coil has the potential to greatly improve the detection of impaired glucose metabolism and regional differences in brain disease diagnosis.