Assessment of the specific absorption rate and calibration of decoupling parameters for proton decoupled carbon-13 MR spectroscopy at 3.0 T.

A strategy for proton decoupled carbon-13 MR spectroscopy ((1H)-13C MRS) with a strong static magnetic field (3.0 T) in vivo was investigated. The proton decoupling improves the signal-to-noise ratio, however, the effect of the decoupling power on the human body, especially in strong magnetic fields, should be considered. In order to establish a technique for monitoring the metabolism of glucose in the liver using (1H)-13C MRS at 3.0 T, two phantom experiments were performed. To assess whether the decoupling energy conformed to SAR limits defined by the IEC, temperature rises inside an agar gel phantom were monitored during a (1H)-13C MRS experiment. Then, the decoupling conditions of a glucose solution phantom were systematically optimized with combinations of decoupling bandwidth and power. The reliability of this procedure was discussed in conjunction with IEC guidelines.