Reproducibility of 3D chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) contrasts in the healthy brain at 3T

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 25637 - 13
• Main Authors: Cronin, Alicia E., Liebig, Patrick, Detombe, Sarah A., Duggal, Neil, Bartha, Robert
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 27.10.2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/378; 639/766/930/2735; Adult; Amide; Brain - diagnostic imaging; Brain - metabolism; CEST MRI; Female; Gray matter; Gray Matter - diagnostic imaging; Gray Matter - metabolism; Healthy Volunteers; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Imaging, Three-Dimensional - methods; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Male; multidisciplinary; Neuroimaging; Nuclear overhauser enhancement; Reproducibility; Reproducibility of Results; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Substantia alba; Substantia grisea; White matter; Young Adult; CEST MRI; Amide; Reproducibility; Gray matter; White matter; Nuclear overhauser enhancement
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-75777-4

Chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) imaging may provide novel contrast for the diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of the progression or treatment of neurological applications. However, the reproducibility of prominent CEST contrasts like amide CEST and nuclear Overhauser enhancement (NOE) CEST must be characterized in healthy brain gray matter (GM) and white matter (GM) prior to clinical implementation. The objective of this study was to characterize the reproducibility of four different CEST contrasts in the healthy human brain. Using a 3T MRI scanner, two 3D CEST scans were acquired in 12 healthy subjects (7 females, mean age (± SD) 26 ± 4 years) approximately 10 days apart. Scan-rescan reproducibility was measured for four contrasts: amine/amide concentration-independent detection (AACID), Amide*, and inverse magnetization transfer ratio (MTR Rex ) contrast for amide and NOE. Reproducibility was evaluated between- and within-subjects using coefficients of variation (CV) and the percent difference between measurements. AACID and NOE-MTR Rex contrasts demonstrated the lowest within-subject CVs (0.8–1.2% and 1.6-2.0%, respectively), between-subject CVs (1.2–2.1% and 3.4–4.2%, respectively), and percent difference (1.2–1.4% and 2.2–2.8%, respectively) for both GM and WM. AACID and NOE-MTR Rex contrasts demonstrated the highest reproducibility and represented stable measurements suitable for characterizing changes in brain tissue caused by pathological processes.