Metabolite images of the human arm: changes in spatial and temporal distribution of high energy phosphates during exercise.

Localized variations in metabolites in resting and exercising skeletal muscle have been studied using Chemical Shift Imaging (CSI) techniques to obtain 2-D arrays of 31P NMR spectra from a slice through the human forearm. The excitation profile of the coil resulted in a slice thickness of ca 80 mm and the planar resolution of the CSI data corresponded to either 7, 10 or 14 mm. The metabolite information was represented both as 2-D arrays of spectra and by constructing images of the spatial distribution of different metabolites. Correlation with the anatomy was clearly visualized by overlaying the metabolite images on the appropriate region of the corresponding proton images. At rest, significant variations in the intensity of Pi, phosphocreatine (PCr) and ATP were observed in different regions of the arm. Our planar spatial and temporal (1-9 min) resolution was also sufficient to follow changes in Pi, PCr and pH in response to exercise. These changes were restricted to the exercising muscle and demonstrated heterogeneity both in the kinetics and magnitude of response between different muscles.