Improved measurement of labile proton concentration-weighted chemical exchange rate (k(ws)) with experimental factor-compensated and T(1) -normalized quantitative chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) MRI.

Chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) MRI enables measurement of dilute CEST agents and microenvironment properties such as pH and temperature, holding great promise for in vivo applications. However, because of confounding concomitant radio frequency (RF) irradiation and relaxation effects, the CEST-weighted MRI contrast may not fully characterize the underlying CEST phenomenon. We postulated that the accuracy of quantitative CEST MRI could be improved if the experimental factors (labeling efficiency and RF spillover effect) were estimated and taken into account. Specifically, the experimental factor was evaluated as a function of exchange rate and CEST agent concentration ratio, which remained relatively constant for intermediate RF irradiation power levels. Hence, the experimental factors can be calculated based on the reasonably estimated exchange rate and labile proton concentration ratio, which significantly improved quantification. The simulation was confirmed with creatine phantoms of serially varied concentration titrated to the same pH, whose reverse exchange rate (k(ws)) was found to be linearly correlated with the concentration. In summary, the proposed solution provides simplified yet reasonably accurate quantification of the underlying CEST system, which may help guide the ongoing development of quantitative CEST MRI.