20100286502 | FREQUENCY REFERENCING FOR CHEMICAL EXCHANGE SATURATION TRANSFER (CEST) MRI - A water saturation shift referencing (WASSR) technique performed using a magnetic resonance scanner comprises: acquiring a spatial map of Z spectra that encompass the water center frequency using sufficiently low saturation power and sufficiently acquisition short duration selected such that symmetry of the Z spectra is not obscured by magnetization transfer but dominated by direct water saturation effects so that the spectrum is substantially symmetric; and performing a symmetry analysis on the substantially symmetric Z spectra to generate a spatial map of the water center frequency. WASSR-corrected chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) imaging is disclosed as an illustrative example. | 11-11-2010 |