Assessment of in vivo 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy in the liver: a review.

With increased availability of magnetic resonance (MR) systems at ultra-high field strength for clinical studies, other organs besides the brain have received renewed consideration for MR spectroscopy (MRS). Because signal-to-noise ratio and chemical shift increase proportional to the static magnetic field, a concomitant increase in signal intensity and spectral resolution of metabolite resonances can be exploited. Improved resolution of adjacent metabolite peaks would not only provide for more accuracy of metabolite identification but also metabolite quantification. While the superiority of high-field imaging and spectroscopy has already been demonstrated clearly in the brain, this article reviewed issues around 1H MRS of the liver. These include optimization strategies such as coil technology, minimizing of motion artefacts using breath-holding and postprocessing of the spectra. Moreover, we reviewed the pertinent experience hitherto reported in the literature on potential clinical issues where liver MRS may be useful. These included determination and characterization of liver fat content, liver tumours and focal lesions. While these applications have been used experimentally, liver MRS does not yet have a clearly defined role in the clinical management of any disease state. Accordingly, it remains primarily a research modality to date.