MR Thermometry
CEST is an MR method that uses many RF pulses to record molecular information. In this project, we are quantifying for the first time the possible temperature changes in the samples that can occur with typical measurement parameters. The extent to which different RF pulse shapes provide meaningful CEST spectra with minimal heating is also important here.
Temperature changes can be measured directly in the strong magnetic field of the sample using an optical sensor. A comparison with the changes in the chemical shift of temperature-sensitive signals allows cores such as 129Xe to be used as absolute MR temperature probes. Necessary corrections for the drift of the magnet are also taken into account.