Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is a type of MRI exam.  It uses the same equipment as a standard MRI, but instead of providing anatomical information, it provides chemical information.

For example, in a normal brain, we see signals from N-acetylasparte (NAA), creatine (Cr), choline (Cho), and, depending on the precise experiment we run, we also see signals from myo-Inositol (mI), glutamine and glutamate, lipids, or lactate.  The amounts of these chemicals that are present give us information about the disease process in the area in which we are looking.

A typical exam is shown below.

Figure 1


Figure 2

In this case, a patient presented with a bright area in the brain.  We placed a voxel, indicated by the white box on the image, in the area of interest.  The corresponding spectra, showing the main metabolite peaks, are adjacent to the images.  Each spectroscopy exam required about 5 minutes to acquire.

• MRS Research at UAMS
• Other Current Projects

Next: MRS Research at UAMS

Return to Current Research