• Dinesh Kumar Deelchand, Isabelle Iltis, and Pierre-Gilles Henry.
• Department of Radiology, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
• Magn Reson Med. 2014 Jul 1; 72 (1): 20-5.

PurposeThe gain in quantification precision that can be expected in human brain (1) H MRS at very high field remains a matter of debate. Here, we investigate this issue using Monte-Carlo simulations.MethodsSimulated human brain-like (1) H spectra were fitted repeatedly with different noise realizations using LCModel at B0 ranging from 1.5T to 11.7T, assuming a linear increase in signal-to-noise ratio with B0 in the time domain, and assuming a linear increase in linewidth with B0 based on experimental measurements. Average quantification precision (Cramér-Rao lower bound) was then determined for each metabolite as a function of B0 .ResultsFor singlets, Cramér-Rao lower bounds improved (decreased) by a factor of ∼ B0 as B0 increased, as predicted by theory. For most J-coupled metabolites, Cramér-Rao lower bounds decreased by a factor ranging from B0 to B0 as B0 increased, reflecting additional gains in quantification precision compared to singlets owing to simplification of spectral pattern and reduced overlap.ConclusionsQuantification precision of (1) H magnetic resonance spectroscopy in human brain continues to improve with B0 up to 11.7T although peak signal-to-noise ratio in the frequency domain levels off above 3T. In most cases, the gain in quantification precision is higher for J-coupled metabolites than for singlets.Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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