In vivo MRS measurement of deoxymyoglobin in human forearms

In vivo MRS measurement of deoxymyoglobin (deoxy-Mb) in human forearms was performed by observing the N-delta proton of F8 proximal histidine. The concentration of deoxy-Mb reflects the oxygen level in the muscle. In resting muscles, the deoxy-Mb level was below the detection sensitivity. When ischemia was introduced by arterial occlusion, the time-resolved NMR spectra (with 1 min resolution) was recorded to follow the change in the deoxy-Mb signal. The result shows that deoxy-Mb signal builds up and levels off within 6 min. This technique may be used to study bioenergetics of muscle during exercise and under pathological conditions.