Reproducibility of 2D GluCEST in healthy human volunteers at 7 T.

Purpose: To investigate the reproducibility of gray and white matter glutamate contrast of a brain slice among a small group of healthy volunteers by using the 2D single-slice glutamate CEST (GluCEST) imaging technique.

Methods: Six healthy volunteers were scanned multiple times for within-day and between-day reproducibility. One more volunteer was scanned for within-day reproducibility at 7T MRI. Glutamate CEST contrast measurements were calculated for within subjects and among the subjects and the coefficient of variations are reported.

Results: The GluCEST measurements were highly reproducible in the gray and white matter area of the brain slice, whether it was within-day or between-day with a coefficient of variation of less than 5%.

Conclusion: This preliminary study in a small group of healthy volunteers shows a high degree of reproducibility of GluCEST MRI in brain and holds promise for implementation in studying age-dependent changes in the brain.