Quantitative T1-relaxation corrected metabolite mapping of 12 metabolites in the human brain at 9.4 T

Magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) is a non-invasive imaging modality that enables observation of metabolites. Applications of MRSI for neuroimaging applications has shown promise for monitoring and detecting various diseases. This study builds off previously developed techniques of short TR, 1 H FID MRSI by correcting for T 1 -weighting of the metabolites and utilizing an internal water reference to produce quantitative (mmol kg −1 ) metabolite maps. This work reports and shows quantitative metabolite maps for 12 metabolites for a single slice. Voxel-specific T 1 -corrections for water are common in MRSI studies; however, most studies use either averaged T 1 -relaxation times to correct for T 1 -weighting of metabolites or omit this correction step entirely. This work employs the use of voxel-specific T 1 -corrections for metabolites in addition to water. Utilizing averaged T 1 -relaxation times for metabolites can bias metabolite maps for metabolites that have strong differences between T 1 -relaxation for GM and WM (i.e. Glu). This work systematically compares quantitative metabolite maps to single voxel quantitative results and qualitatively compares metabolite maps to previous works. Highlights Quantitative metabolite maps of 12 metabolites human brains acquired at 9.4 T. Voxel-specific T 1 -weighting corrections for water and metabolites. Comparisons of T 1 -weighted and T 1 -corrected metabolite maps.