High-quality lipid suppression and B0 shimming for human brain 1H MRSI

• B 0 magnetic field inhomogeneity and extracranial lipids hinder the acquisition of robust human brain proton MRSI. • New hardware techniques capable of addressing current limitations with proton MRSI are needed. • A second-order gradient insert with an integrated 54-channel multi-coil (MC) array (collectively called MC-ECLIPSE) was constructed. • The MC-array provides magnetic field shimming capabilities comparable to spherical harmonic order 5. • MC-ECLIPSE allows arbitrary shaped OVS for > 92 % axial slice coverage for various head shapes investigated. • Collectively, MC-ECLIPSE provides robust full-axial coverage for various MRSI acquisitions with low SAR requirements. Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Imaging (MRSI) is a powerful technique that can map the metabolic profile in the brain non-invasively. Extracranial lipid contamination and insufficient B 0 homogeneity however hampers robustness, and as a result has hindered widespread use of MRSI in clinical and research settings. Over the last six years we have developed highly effective extracranial lipid suppression methods with a second order gradient insert (ECLIPSE) utilizing inner volume selection (IVS) and outer volume suppression (OVS) methods. While ECLIPSE provides > 100-fold in lipid suppression with modest radio frequency (RF) power requirements and immunity to B 1 + field variations, axial coverage is reduced for non-elliptical head shapes. In this work we detail the design, construction, and utility of MC-ECLIPSE, a pulsed second order gradient coil with Z2 and X2Y2 fields, combined with a 54-channel multi-coil (MC) array. The MC-ECLIPSE platform allows arbitrary region of interest (ROI) shaped OVS for full-axial slice coverage, in addition to MC-based B 0 field shimming, for robust human brain proton MRSI. In vivo experiments demonstrate that MC-ECLIPSE allows axial brain coverage of 92–95 % is achieved following arbitrary ROI shaped OVS for various head shapes. The standard deviation (SD) of the residual B 0 field following SH2 and MC shimming were 25 ± 9 Hz and 18 ± 8 Hz over a 5 cm slab, and 18 ± 5 Hz and 14 ± 6 Hz over a 1.5 cm slab, respectively. These results demonstrate that B 0 magnetic field shimming with the MC array supersedes second order harmonic capabilities available on standard MRI systems for both restricted and large ROIs. Furthermore, MC based B 0 shimming provides comparable shimming performance to an unrestricted SH5 shim set for both restricted, and 5-cm slab shim challenges. Phantom experiments demonstrate the high level of localization performance achievable with MC-ECLIPSE, with ROI edge chemical shift displacements ranging from 1–3 mm with a median value of 2 mm, and transition width metrics ranging from 1–2.5 mm throughout the ROI edge. Furthermore, MC based B 0 shimming is comparable to performance following a full set of unrestricted spherical harmonic fields up to order 5. Short echo time MRSI and GABA-edited MRSI acquisitions in the human brain following MC-shimming and arbitrary ROI shaping demonstrate full-axial slice coverage and extracranial lipid artifact free spectra. MC-ECLIPSE allows full-axial coverage and robust MRSI acquisitions, while allowing interrogation of cortical tissue proximal to the skull, which has significant value in a wide range of neurological and psychiatric conditions.