Direct comparison of deuterium 2H MRSI at 3T vs 7T

Deuterium metabolic imaging (DMI) is a new method to probe brain metabolism. Theory predicts higher SNR at higher field strength, but clinical translation is easier at lower field strength. We undertook 2H MRSI in 3 healthy volunteers at 3T and 7T sequentially. Acquisition was undertaken at baseline and after 11.1g oral D2O consumption. Data quality was acceptable in all scans. SNR was 3x higher at 7T, in agreement with theory. D2O cerebral uptake rate was similar between field strengths (0.13 min-1 at 3T vs 0.07 min-1 at 7T).