Scan time reduction in proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging of the human brain

A simple technique is described for scan time reductions in proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) of the human brain. Scan time is reduced by approximately 35% while preserving spatial resolution by reducing the field of view (FOV) and number of phase-encoding steps in the transverse direction of the brain. A multislice MRSI of the brain is demonstrated which takes approximately 20 min with a square FOV, and 13 min with a reduced FOV. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the reduced FOV scan was measured to be 15% lower than that of the full FOV scan, which is close to the expected theoretical value of 19% based on the square root of the scan time. The method can be applied with any sequence, and requires minimal software and no hardware modifications. Scan time in MRSI is minimized in this method by using FOVs no larger than the dimensions of the object to be imaged. The method may also be combined with other fast MRSI techniques to provide further scan time reductions.