The present invention relates to a method of calculating a proton density fat fraction, PDFF, from a water and fat separated magnetic resonance imaging, MRI, based on fat-referenced lipid quantification in a region of interest (ROI) and using determination of a reference tissue. The method comprises the step of determining: F.Math.β.sub.f/R, wherein F is the fat signal in the ROI provided from the MRI, β.sub.f is a function providing a ratio between T1 saturation values of the fat signals in the reference tissue and in the ROI; and R is a representation of the sum of fat and water signals on an intensity scale where the saturation of each of the fat and water signals equals the saturation of fat in the reference tissue.

The present invention relates to a method of calculating a proton density fat fraction, PDFF, from a water and fat separated magnetic resonance imaging, MRI, based on fat-referenced lipid quantification in a region of interest (ROI) and using determination of a reference tissue. The method comprises the step of determining: F.Math.β.sub.f/R, wherein F is the fat signal in the ROI provided from the MRI, β.sub.f is a function providing a ratio between T1 saturation values of the fat signals in the reference tissue and in the ROI; and R is a representation of the sum of fat and water signals on an intensity scale where the saturation of each of the fat and water signals equals the saturation of fat in the reference tissue.

According to one embodiment, a reconstruction apparatus obtains acquired raw data, and reconstruct a data set that represents a measured physical amount with a multidimensional space based on the acquired raw data. Herein, the apparatus performs reduction processing for generating noise-reduced partial data from partial data relating to a partial area of a data set at a current number of iterations, error compensation processing for compensating errors in a data set at the current number of iterations with respect to the acquired raw data, and optimization processing for reconstructing the data set by repeating the reduction processing and the error compensation processing until predetermined criteria are met, while moving the partial area.

In a method for MRI of an object, spins of a first material and spins of a second material are excited. An in-phase echo signal is acquired when the spins are in-phase and an out-of-phase echo signal is acquired, when the spins are out of phase. A first image for the first material and/or a second image for the second material is generated by a computing unit depending on the in-phase echo signal and the out-of-phase echo signal. For acquiring the out-of-phase echo signal, a momentum space is sampled asymmetrically in a read-out direction.

A method of diagnosing or monitoring a patient suffering from cancer, the method comprising: administering a pharmaceutical composition comprising an effective amount of an active agent, wherein the active agent is [1-.sup.13C] N-acetyl cysteine, a deuterated derivative thereof, a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of any of the foregoing thereof, or a combination thereof, together with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier to the patient; and diagnosing or monitoring the patient by hyperpolarized .sup.13C-MRI. Also disclosed is a method of synthesizing [1-.sup.13C] N-acetyl cysteine or a deuterated derivative thereof.

A subject S to which .sup.17O gas has been administered is placed within a fixed uniform static magnetic field of an NMR apparatus 1. The subject is irradiated, through proton coupling, with an excitation pulse produced using a pulse sequence having a short cycle time of 20.4 msec or less, preferably 10.4 msec or less, and more preferably 5.6 msec or less. An NMR signal generated due to .sup.17O nuclei of .sup.17O water produced within the subject by oxygen metabolism of the .sup.17O gas being excited by irradiation with the excitation pulse is detected with high sensitivity and is processed in accordance with a prescribed imaging sequence in which an MRS sequence is used.

A subject S to which .sup.17O gas has been administered is placed within a fixed uniform static magnetic field of an NMR apparatus 1. The subject is irradiated, through proton coupling, with an excitation pulse produced using a pulse sequence having a short cycle time of 20.4 msec or less, preferably 10.4 msec or less, and more preferably 5.6 msec or less. An NMR signal generated due to .sup.17O nuclei of .sup.17O water produced within the subject by oxygen metabolism of the .sup.17O gas being excited by irradiation with the excitation pulse is detected with high sensitivity and is processed in accordance with a prescribed imaging sequence in which an MRS sequence is used.

Phase-incrementing MRSI (pi-MRSI) method has resolved overlapping biomarker images in the presence of a read-gradient. On a Bruker 9.4T MRI spectrometer, the pi-SEE-HSelMQC sequence was implemented. The choline-selective and lactate CH-selective RF pulses were phase incremented by 10° in opposite signs, synchronized with the phase-encoding steps. The lactate and choline images from a yogurt phantom displayed opposite image offsets without image overlapping. In vivo one-dimensional pi-SEE-HSelMQC CSI images of lactate and choline, acquired from the MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer xenograft in a nude mouse, as well as two-dimensional pi-SEE-HSelMQC imaging of lactate and choline acquired from the PC3 human prostate cancer xenograft in a nude mouse, also had opposite image offsets, shifted away from the spurious residual water signals in the image center. The pi-SEE-HSelMQC method completely suppresses lipid and water with potential clinical applications in disease diagnosis and therapeutic interventions.

Phase-incrementing MRSI (pi-MRSI) method has resolved overlapping biomarker images in the presence of a read-gradient. On a Bruker 9.4T MRI spectrometer, the pi-SEE-HSelMQC sequence was implemented. The choline-selective and lactate CH-selective RF pulses were phase incremented by 10° in opposite signs, synchronized with the phase-encoding steps. The lactate and choline images from a yogurt phantom displayed opposite image offsets without image overlapping. In vivo one-dimensional pi-SEE-HSelMQC CSI images of lactate and choline, acquired from the MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer xenograft in a nude mouse, as well as two-dimensional pi-SEE-HSelMQC imaging of lactate and choline acquired from the PC3 human prostate cancer xenograft in a nude mouse, also had opposite image offsets, shifted away from the spurious residual water signals in the image center. The pi-SEE-HSelMQC method completely suppresses lipid and water with potential clinical applications in disease diagnosis and therapeutic interventions.

A method for acquiring nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) phase-sensitive two-dimensional (2D) J-resolved spectrum by suppressing strong coupling spurious peaks, comprising: 1) placing a sample, collecting a conventional one-dimensional (1D) spectrum of the sample, and measuring a time width (pw) of a 90° pulse, wherein the conventional 1D spectrum provides J coupling information and chemical shift information of the sample; and 2) introducing a pulse sequence for suppressing strong coupling, setting parameters of a chirp sweep frequency pulse, a pure shift yielded by chirp excitation (PSYCHE) module, and a J sampling module, and collecting and saving data of a spectrum.