Absolute temperature MR imaging with thulium 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetramethyl-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (TmDOTMA−)

• Published in: Magnetic resonance in medicine 2009-08, Vol.62 (2), p.550-556
• Main Authors: James, Judy R., Gao, Yong, Miller, Michael A., Babsky, Andriy, Bansal, Navin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algorithms; Animals; Body Temperature - physiology; Contrast Media; Image Enhancement - methods; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted - methods; in vivo 1H MRI; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; MR temperature imaging; Organometallic Compounds; paramagnetic lanthanide complex; phase sensitive imaging; Rats; Rats, Inbred F344; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Thermography - methods; Whole Body Imaging - methods
• ISSN: 0740-3194; 1522-2594
• DOI: 10.1002/mrm.22039

MR thermometry based on the water 1H signal provides high temporal and spatial resolution, but it has low temperature sensitivity (∼0.01 ppm/°C) and requires monitoring of another weaker signal for absolute temperature measurements. The use of the paramagnetic lanthanide complex, thulium 1,4,7,10‐ tetraazacyclo‐dodecane‐1,4,7,10‐tetramethyl‐1,4,7,10‐tetraac‐ etate (TmDOTMA−), which is ∼60 times more sensitive to temperature than the water 1H signal, is advanced to image absolute temperatures in vivo using water signal as a reference. The temperature imaging technique was developed using gradient echo and asymmetric spin echo imaging sequences on 9.4 Tesla (T) horizontal and vertical MR scanners. A comparison of regional temperatures measured with TmDOTMA− and fiber‐optic probes showed that the accuracy of imaging temperature is