In vivo MR spectroscopy of human subjects with a 1.4-T whole-body MR imager.

A 1.4-T magnetic resonance (MR) imager was modified to perform MR spectroscopy measurements. The implementation involved only a few additions in hardware and practically no change in software. Procedures for acquiring the MR spectra are similar to those for MR images. Both sensitivity and homogeneity were found to be adequate over a region 12 cm in diameter. Typical scanning times are 4.5 minutes for human brain, 2.8 minutes for muscle, and 20-35 minutes for solid tumors. Preliminary spectral studies of the metabolism of human brains, tumors, and a muscle of the forearm during exercise obtained with the modified system are presented.