Determining Relative Diglyceride to Triglyceride Levels with STEAM MRS at 3 T

Abstract

Diglyceride levels have been found elevated with some disease. Previously, STEAM (mixing time=TM=20ms) with an echo time (TE) of 100ms was shown to resolve triglyceride glycerol resonances from that of water of 3T while yielding adequate glycerol signal. The purpose of this work is to determine if STEAM with a TE of 100ms facilitates relative quantification of diglyceride/triglyceride levels at 3 T. Spectra were measured from phantoms containing 1,3-dicaprylin/tricaprylin with varying weight/weight contents of 2.5%/97.5%, 5%/95%, 10%/90% and 20%/80%. Concentration ratios of 1,3-dicaprylin/tricaprylin estimated from STEAM (TM=20ms, TE=100ms) resulted in a linear correlation with expected concentration ratios (R2 > 0.99).