¹H MRS phantom studies of BNCT ¹⁰B‐carrier, BPA–F using STEAM and PRESS MRS sequences: Detection limit and quantification

Issue title: Second International Conference on Biomedical Spectroscopy: From the Bench to the Clinic, London, UK, 5–8 July, 2003

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Timonen, M.^; | Kangasmäki, A.^; | Savolainen, S.^{; ;} | Heikkinen, S.^{; ;}

Affiliations: Department of Radiology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, P.O. Box 340, FIN‐00029 HUS, Helsinki, Finland | Department Physical Sciences, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 64, FIN‐00014, Helsinki, Finland | Department of Laboratory Diagnostics, Helsinki University Central Hospital, P.O. Box 580, FIN‐00029 HUS, Helsinki, Finland | Advanced Magnetic Imaging Centre, Helsinki University of Technology, FIN‐02015 HUT, Espoo, Finland

Note: [] Corresponding author: Sami Heikkinen, Department of Radiology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, P.O. Box 340, FIN‐00029 HUS, Helsinki, Finland. Tel.: +358 50 427 1450; Fax: +358 9 471 71342; E‐mail: Sami.Heikkinen@hus.fi.

Abstract: The quantification of boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) 10B‐carrier, L‐p‐boronophenylalanine‐fructose complex (BPA–F) was studied with phantoms using 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy sequences PRESS and STEAM at 1.5 and 3.0 T. The results show that typical attainable short echo times of clinical MRS sequences combined with long repetition time result in clinically acceptable quantification accuracy. However, the concentration ratios, which are essential for the treatment planning, can still be reliably measured by using small repetition times. Detection limits of BPA in aqueous phantoms at 1.5 and 3.0 T were evaluated using clinically acceptable measurement time of ∼10 min, two typical voxel sizes (153 and 203 mm3) and PRESS and STEAM sequences. The detection limits of BPA in phantom conditions were 0.7 (3.0 T) and 1.4 mM (1.5 T) for PRESS sequence with 203 mm3 voxel.

Journal: Spectroscopy, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 133-142, 2004