Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
MRI ScannerMagnetic resonance (MRI) scanners are capable not only of recording detailed images, but also of monitoring human biochemistry non-invasively. Application of an appropriate series of radiofrequency pulses and magnetic field gradients allows one to determine the chemical composition at a chosen location within a subject. Such magnetic resonance spectroscopy methods are a corner stone of the cardiac clinical research programme at the University of Oxford Centre for Clinical Magnetic Resonance Research (OCMR), where they allow us to investigate the metabolism of heart muscle tissue. Recent technical innovations that are being pioneered here at OCMR include the development of phosphorus methods for use in magnetic fields of 3 Tesla that give higher ratios of signal to noise (SNR) than are possible with conventional 1.5 Tesla MRI scanners.
We are also developing methods that use a “phased-array” to further enhance the signals that may be recorded from phosphorous in the heart. Phased-array reception coils were first proposed twenty years ago, and are now widely accepted as essential for clinical magnetic resonance imaging. The advantages of these coils are higher SNR, and better image uniformity yielding the best diagnostic information. However, only recently have phased arrays that detect sodium and phosphorous become commercially available. Using a phosphorous phased-array purchased with funding from the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, we are working to realise the theoretically anticipated improvements in reproducibility and clinical robustness.
This work is developing well and has already resulted in a peer reviewed publication in Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. This work has been presented within the UK and internationally.
