In vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic signal processing for the absolute quantitation of brain metabolites

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is a non-invasive imaging modality for metabolite detection in different parts of the body (e.g. brain, liver, prostate, breast, kidney, skeletal muscle, and heart) for normal person as well as in various disorders. It aids in providing valuable information for both diagnosis as well as therapeutic monitoring. Though there has been tremendous progress in MRS signal processing techniques for the quantitation of neurometabolites, variability in the absolute quantitation of metabolites persists due to various experimental conditions. In this article, we present in-depth discussion on 1H MRS data processing and quantitation using different software packages both in frequency (e.g. LCModel) and time domain (e.g. jMRUI). We have included comparative analysis of precision and accuracy of MRS data processing using LCModel and jMRUI (AMARES). Special emphasis has been provided for the handling of macromolecules and lipid in LCModel and jMRUI methods. The author also suggests certain points to be noted while opting for above software packages.