1H MRS of a boron neutron capture therapy 10B-carrier, L-p-boronophenylalanine–fructose complex, BPA–F: phantom studies at 1.5 and 3.0 T

Abstract

The quantification of a BNCT 10B-carrier, L-p-boronophenylalanine–fructose complex (BPA–F), was evaluated using 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) with phantoms at 1.5 and 3.0 T. For proper quantification, relaxation times T1 and T2 are needed. While T1 is relatively easy to determine, the determination of T2 of a coupled spin system of aromatic protons of BPA is not straightforward with standard MRS sequences. In addition, an uncoupled concentration reference for aromatic protons of BPA must be used with caution. In order to determine T2, the response of an aromatic proton spin system to the MRS sequence PRESS with various echo times was calculated and the product of the response curve with exponential decay was fitted to the measured intensities. Furthermore, the response curve can be used to correct the intensities, when an uncoupled resonance is used as a concentration reference. BPA was quantified using both phantom replacement and internal water referencing methods with accuracies of ±5% and ±15%. Our phantom results suggest that in vivo studies on BPA concentration determination will be feasible.