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.