Imaging of ¹⁷O-labeled Water Using Fast T2 Mapping with T2-preparation: A Phantom Study

Abstract

¹⁷O-labeled water is a T2-shortening contrast agent used in proton MRI and is a promising method for visualizing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dynamics because it provides long-term tracking of water molecules. However, various external factors reduce the accuracy of ¹⁷O-concentration measurements using conventional signal-intensity-based methods. In addition, T2 mapping, which is expected to provide a stable assessment, is generally limited to temporal–spatial resolution. We developed the T2-prepared based on T2 mapping used in cardiac imaging to adapt to long T2 values and tested whether it could accurately measure ¹⁷O-concentration in the CSF using a phantom. The results showed that ¹⁷O-concentration in a fluid mimicking CSF could be evaluated with an accuracy comparable to conventional T2-mapping (Carr–Purcell–Meiboom–Gill multi-echo spin-echo method). This method allows ¹⁷O-imaging with a high temporal resolution and stability in proton MRI. This imaging technique may be promising for visualizing CSF dynamics using ¹⁷O-labeled water.