Robust and Automated Processing of Deuterium Metabolic Imaging (DMI) using Spatial Prior Knowledge

Deuterium Metabolic Imaging (DMI) is a novel method to generate spatial maps of dynamic metabolism. While DMI acquisition methods are simple and robust, DMI processing still requires expert user interaction, for example in the removal of extracranial natural abundance 2H lipid signals that interfere with metabolism-linked 2H-lactate formation. Here we pursue the use of MRI-based spatial prior knowledge to provide automated and objective lipid removal. Adequate lipid suppression without perturbation of brain voxels is achieved, thereby allowing the generation of distinct and reliable metabolic maps on patients with brain tumors.