Improved water and lipid suppression for 3D PRESS CSI using RF band selective inversion with gradient dephasing (BASING)

Abstract

A T1 insensitive solvent suppression technique-band selective inversion with gradient dephasing (BASING)-was developed to suppress water and lipids for 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). BASING, which consists of a frequency selective RF inversion pulse surrounded by spoiler gradient pulses of opposite signs, was used to dephase stopband resonances and minimally impact passband metabolites. Passband phase linearity was achieved with a dual BASING scheme. Using the Shinnar-Le Roux algorithm, a highpass filter was designed to suppress water and rephase the lactate methyl doublet independently of TE, and water/lipid bandstop filters were designed for the brain and prostate. Phantom and in vivo experimental 3D PRESS CSI data were acquired at 1.5 T to compare BASING with CHESS and STIR suppression. With BASING, the measured suppression factor was over 100 times higher than with CHESS or STIR causing baseline distortions to be removed. It was shown that BASING can be incorporated into a variety of sequences to offer improved suppression in the presence of B1 and T1 inhomogeneites.