Temperature dependence of the magnetic volume susceptibility of human breast fat tissue: an NMR study
Sprinkhuizen, S.M., Bakker, C.J.G., Ippel, J.H., Boelens, R., Viergever, M.A., Bartels, L.W.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10334-011-0250-2
Magma - Magnetic Resonance Materials In Physics Biology And Medicine
25
(1),
p. 33-39
Abstract
Object
Proton resonance frequency shift (PRFS)-based MR thermometry (MRT) is hampered by heat-induced susceptibility changes when applied in tissues containing fat, e.g., the human breast. In order to assess the impact of fat susceptibility changes on PRFS-based MRT during thermal therapy in the human breast, reliable knowledge of the temperature dependence of the magnetic volume susceptibility of fat, dχfat/dT, is a prerequisite. In this work we have measured dχfat/dT of human breast fat tissue, using a double-reference method to ensure invariance to temperature-induced changes in the proton electron screening constant.
Materials and methods
Ex vivo measurements were taken on a 14.1 T five mm narrow bore NMR spectrometer. Breast fat tissue samples were collected from six subjects, directly postmortem. The susceptibility was measured over a temperature range from 24°C to 65°C.
Results
A linear behavior of the susceptibility over temperature was observed for all samples. The resulting dχfat/dT of human breast fat ranged between 0.0039 and 0.0076 ppm/°C.
Conclusion
It is concluded that the impact of heat-induced susceptibility changes of fat during thermal therapy in the breast may not be neglected.