# Time-efficient MRI and deuterium metabolic imaging (DMI) through parallel signal acquisition

> **NIH NIH R01** · YALE UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $472,928

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Deuterium metabolic imaging (DMI) is a novel, MR-based method to map metabolism non-invasively in vivo.
DMI maps of glucose metabolism in patients with high grade brain tumors illustrate the detection of aberrant
metabolism (`Warburg effect') with high contrast, thereby showing a strong clinical potential to supplement
existing anatomical MRI with unique metabolic information. DMI is not the first MR-based metabolic imaging
modality, but stands on the shoulders of 1H, 13C, 31P and hyperpolarized 13C MR spectroscopic imaging (MRSI).
Unfortunately, none of these methods have reached their full clinical potential due to a variety of reasons
including technical complexity and lack of robustness and/or sensitivity. DMI is unique in that it is extremely
robust due to the simple MR acquisition methods, while providing good sensitivity and information content,
making it an ideal technique for broad dissemination in the clinical arena. Yet, adding DMI scans to a standard,
clinical MRI protocol is challenging because the relatively long scan time of DMI that can result in decreased
patient compliance and increased scanning costs. Fortunately, MRI and DMI are based on different, well-
separated resonance frequencies, opening the possibility to acquire DMI in parallel with MRI without increasing
the scan time. This is achieved by implementing DMI acquisitions during the short delays present in most MRI
methods to generate appropriate anatomical image contrast. Here we pursue the technological innovations
necessary to achieve high-quality and time-efficient parallel acquisition of MRI and DMI on a clinical MR scanner.
This overall goal will be achieved through three Aims, focused on hardware and software development followed
by in vivo evaluation. Aim 1 is focused on the development of a 1H/2H RF coil suitable for parallel MRI-DMI on
human brain in a clinical research setting. Primary design criteria are brain coverage and sensitivity for 1H and
2H, in addition to acceleration potential for 1H. Aim 2 addresses the development and implementation of parallel
MRI-DMI methods on a clinical 3 T Siemens platform. The selected MRI methods will resemble a standard,
clinical brain MR examination protocol and include FLAIR, T1-weighted MP-RAGE, diffusion-weighted imaging
(DWI) and susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI). Aim 3 is centered on a comparison between standard and
parallel MRI-DMI acquisitions on healthy volunteers to test the general design philosophy that parallel MRI and
DMI sensitivity, resolution and image contrast are unperturbed. Studies on patients with brain tumors are
performed to demonstrate the robustness of parallel MRI-DMI under real-world conditions. Upon successful
completion, this project will deliver the hardware and software necessary to achieve robust, parallel acquisition
of high-quality MRI and DMI at 3 T. Integration of DMI into existing neuro MRI methods will result in a
comprehensive imaging protocol that provides both ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10881104
- **Project number:** 1R01EB034730-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** YALE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** ROBIN A DE GRAAF
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $472,928
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-06-08 → 2028-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10881104

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10881104, Time-efficient MRI and deuterium metabolic imaging (DMI) through parallel signal acquisition (1R01EB034730-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10881104. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*