Whole Brain 1H-Spectroscopy: A Developing Technique for Advanced Analysis of Cerebral Metabolism

Objective Accompanying the advance of neuroscientific research and modern therapeutic methods, efforts have been made to develop more practical and effective advanced magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopic techniques. Methods We present a brief overview on H-1-MRS techniques in neuroradiological diagnosis and several application examples of recently reported whole brain MR spectroscopic imaging technique (wbMRSI). Results Despite the benefits of using established H-1-MRS techniques both single voxel MR spectroscopy (SVS) and chemical shift imaging (CSI) techniques suffer from limited spatial coverage. It is always necessary to define prior to the MRS examination which brain structure is physiologically or pathologically involved and thus should be targeted with H-1-MRS. In contrast, the advanced wbMRSI allows estimating metabolite changes within a much larger brain region and at multiple brain structures simultaneously. Conclusions As a developing technique for advanced analysis of cerebral metabolism a wide application of the wbMRSI in both clinical diagnostics and neuroscience could be expected.