Oxygen induced T1 changes in head and neck anatomical structures

Abstract

Oxygen enhanced MRI (OE-MRI) is a proposed tumour hypoxia imaging technique that is yet to be widely applied in the head and neck. 7 participants, 3 with suspected head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) were scanned using 3D spoiled GRE-DIXON. After on air scans, oxygen was delivered via a non-rebreather mask. T1 times were determined on in-phase images. Oxygenation led to statistically significant T1 shortening in CSF, thyroid and neck nodes. OE-MRI shows promise in identifying hypoxic regions in the head and neck. Further work investigating the feasibility of OE-MRI to detect hypoxic regions in HNSCC is warranted.