Phosphocreatine (PCr) plays a crucial role in energy homeostasis within neurons and myocytes. Currently, noninvasive PCr distribution mapping with clinically relevant spatial resolution and scan time is lacking. This study demonstrates that artificial neural network-based chemical exchange saturation transfer (ANNCEST) rapidly and robustly quantifies PCr concentration, mitigating common MRI interferences. High-quality PCr mapping of human skeletal muscle, including exchange rate, magnetic field, and radio-frequency inhomogeneity information, is achieved within 1.5 minutes on a 3T MRI scanner. ANNCEST results strongly correlate with ³¹P magnetic resonance spectroscopy (R=0.813, p<0.001), suggesting its potential as a cost-effective, widely available method for PCr measurement and diagnosis of related diseases.

Lin Chen, Michael Schär, Kannie W.Y. Chan, Jianpan Huang, Zhiliang Wei, Hanzhang Lu, Qin Qin, Robert G. Weiss, Peter C.M. van Zijl, Jiadi Xu