• magnetic resonance spectroscopy
• phosphorus MRS
• ultra-high field MRI

Imaging techniques based on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) are, to date, among the most used diagnostic tools worldwide, thanks to their non-invasive and multiparametric nature. In particular, Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS), and its extension to imaging technique (Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Imaging, MRSI), provide precious insights into metabolic processes by distinguishing different compounds ­­-named metabolites in life science- based on their resonance frequency and by quantifying their concentration.
In principle, MRS could be applied to the study of all nuclei with non-zero spin. However, the application of this technique to nuclei other than 1H is limited by their low physiological concentration within the human body and by their small gyromagnetic ratio that significantly reduce the achievable signal intensity. The recent developments of Ultra-High-Field (UHF) MR scanners, i.e. with static field ≥ 7T, yield substantial improvements in spectral resolution and signal-to-noise ratio, enabling the detection of signals coming from low concentration nuclei, such as 31P.
The purpose of this work was the implementation of 31P spectroscopy on a human 7T MR scanner in order to establish a data acquisition and analysis pipeline for metabolic human liver studies. The effects of confounding factors on the quantification of metabolites concentration were evaluated via simulations and in-vitro experiments. Finally, a preliminary study in-vivo has been performed.