A practical guide to in vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy at high magnetic fields

Localized proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) is a noninvasive tool for measuring in vivo neurochemical information in animal and human brains. With the increase of magnetic field strength, whereas localized 1H-MRS benefits from higher sensitivity and spectral dispersion, it is challenged by increased spatial inhomogeneity of the B0 and B1 fields, larger chemical shift displacement error, and shortened T2 relaxation times of metabolites. Advanced localized 1H-MRS methodologies developed for high magnetic fields have shown promising results and allow the measurement of neurochemical profiles with up to 19 brain metabolites, including less-abundant metabolites, such as glutathione, glycine, γ-aminobutyric acid and ascorbate. To provide a practical guide for conducting in vivo 1H-MRS studies at high magnetic field strength, we reviewed various essential technical aspects from data acquisition (hardware requirements, B1 and B0 inhomogeneity, water suppression, localization sequences and acquisition strategies) to data processing (frequency and phase correction, spectral quality control, spectral fitting and concentration referencing). Additionally, we proposed guidelines for choosing the most appropriate data acquisition and processing approaches to maximize the achievable neurochemical information.