GLINT: Establishing reproducible APT-, NOE- and gluco-CEST measurement at 3 T: evaluated at 3 clinical sites

Aims and objectives: Chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows for indirect detection of diluted molecules via their saturation transfer to the abundant water pool [1-3]. Many different diluted solutes were reported to be detectable with CEST, including endogenous solutes such [...] Methods and materials: MRI was performed at 3 T (Prisma, Siemens Healthcare) in three healthy subjects, each at a different clinical site: University College London (UCL), Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Biological Cybernetics in Germany, and Tel Aviv University (TAU) in Israel. In addition, one patient with one brain tum[...] Results: All three sites produced similar CEST contrasts with stable signal distribution over all slices. APT-weighted images exhibited the expected low contrast in healthy tissues (Figure 2). Spectrally selective amide- and NOE-CEST maps (Figure 3) showed gray- and white-matter contrast comparable to that r[...] Conclusion: At clinical field strengths, CEST effects are spectrally broadened and lower in magnitude, and therefore harder to isolate compared to experiments at ultra-high magnetic field strengths. Translation of CEST imaging to clinical field strengths is therefore challenging. In this study, a fast 3D snap[...