In-Vivo CEST MRI to assess and identify myocardial infarction by using natural D- glucose as a contrast agent

The current preclinical study aimed to explore the application of natural D-glucose as an infusible biodegradable MRI contrast agent for imaging of myocardial infarction (MI) by glucose weighted CEST MRI (glucoCEST). To this end, in a mouse model of MI, the infarct region was first identified and verified by late gadolinium enhancement MRI and histology, respectively. In-Vivo glucoCEST MTRasym maps showed substantial differences before and after glucose infusion according to the myocardial viability. Statistical analysis verified that glucoCEST contrast could distinguish significantly between MI region, remote myocardium as well as healthy myocardium.