What does this research mean for the field?

In human skeletal muscle, sodium (23Na) T1 relaxation time increases and long T2* relaxation time decreases with higher magnetic field strength (from 3 T to 7 T), while apparent tissue sodium concentration (aTSC) measurements demonstrate high reproducibility across these field strengths. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To establish reference values for sodium-23 (23Na) longitudinal (T1) and bi-exponential transverse (T2*) relaxation times in healthy human lower-leg muscle at 3 T and 7 T, and to assess the reproducibility of apparent tissue sodium concentration (aTSC).

August 23, 2026Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics Biology and MedicineOpen Access

Comparative analysis of 23Na T1 and T2* relaxation times in healthy muscle tissue at 3 and 7 T

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To establish reference values for sodium-23 (23Na) longitudinal (T1) and bi-exponential transverse (T2*) relaxation times in healthy human lower-leg muscle at 3 T and 7 T, and to assess the reproducibility of apparent tissue sodium concentration (aTSC).
Scanned 20 healthy volunteers using 3D stack-of-stars ultra-short echo time (UTE) 23Na MRI at both 3 T and 7 T.
Quantified T2* relaxation using multi-echo bi-exponential fitting (with fixed and free short-component fractions), measured T1 with a saturation-recovery approach, and calculated aTSC using calibration phantoms.
T1 relaxation times increased from 3 T (26.5 ± 2.0 ms) to 7 T (28.1 ± 1.7 ms), while long T2* relaxation times decreased from 20.5 ± 2.9 ms at 3 T to 18.4 ± 2.5 ms at 7 T.
Mean aTSC was 17.5 ± 1.7 mM at 3 T and 18.5 ± 1.7 mM at 7 T, demonstrating high reproducibility with a coefficient of variation of 4.1%.

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Implication

Comparative imaging study reveals field-dependent sodium relaxation times and reproducible tissue sodium levels in healthy skeletal muscle, establishing baseline standards for high-field MRI.

Cite This Study

Zeitouni et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a8aae337677a34114446fa9 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10334-026-01404-0

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Implication

Comparative imaging study reveals field-dependent sodium relaxation times and reproducible tissue sodium levels in healthy skeletal muscle, establishing baseline standards for high-field MRI.

Comparative analysis of 23Na T1 and T2* relaxation times in healthy muscle tissue at 3 and 7 T

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Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

Comparative analysis of 23Na T1 and T2* relaxation times in healthy muscle tissue at 3 and 7 T

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

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