Short echo time proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging of macromolecule and metabolite signal intensities in the human brain.

A novel approach is presented for imaging macromolecule and metabolite signals in brain by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging. The method differentiates between metabolites and macromolecules by T1 weighting using an inversion pulse followed by a variable inversion recovery time before localization and spectroscopic imaging. In healthy subjects, the major macromolecule resonances at 2.05 and 0.9 ppm were mapped at a nominal spatial resolution of 1 x 1 x 1.5 cm3 and were demonstrated to be highly reproducible between subjects. In subacute stroke patients, a highly elevated macromolecule resonance at 1.3 ppm was mapped to infarcted brain regions, suggesting potential applications for studying pathological conditions.