Spin-echo fluorine magnetic resonance imaging at 2 T: in vivo spatial distribution of halothane in the rabbit head.

Spin-echo 19F magnetic resonance imaging was performed at 2.0 T to explore the in vivo spatial distribution of halothane in the rabbit head. Because the halothane concentration is low in vivo, and because the measured relaxation times of the 19F resonance peak for halothane were T1 approximately equal to 1.0 sec and T2 approximately equal to 3.5-65 msec, 1-3-h imaging times were required (TR = 1 sec, TE = 9 msec) in order to obtain adequate images with a 64 X 256 raw data matrix and a 20-mm slice thickness. With this technique, halothane was primarily detected in lipophilic regions of the rabbit head, but little or no halothane was observed in brain tissue. Because T2 was shorter in brain tissue than in surrounding fat, a shorter TE than we could obtain is needed for optimal spin-echo imaging of brain halothane.