Is absolute noninvasive temperature measurement by the Pr[MOE-DO3A] complex feasible.

Recently, the feasibility of the praseodymium complex of 10-(2-methoxyethyl)-1,4,7,10-tetraaza-cyclododecane-1,4,7-tr iacetate (Pr[MOE-DO3A]) for non-invasive temperature measurement via 1H spectroscopy has been demonstrated. Particularly the suitability of the complex for non-invasive temperature measurements including in vivo spectroscopy without spatial resolution as well as first spectroscopic imaging measurements at low temporal resolution (> or = 4 min) and high temporal resolution (breath hold, approximately 20 s) has been shown. As of today, calibration curves according to the particular experimental conditions are necessary. This work aims to clarify whether the Pr[MOE-DO3A] probe in conjunction with 1H-NMR spectroscopy allows non-invasive absolute temperature measurements with high accuracy. The measurement results from two different representative media, distilled water and human plasma, show a slight but significant dependence of the calibration curves on the surrounding medium. Calibration curves in water and plasma were derived for the temperature dependence of the chemical shift difference (F) between Pr[MOE-DO3A]'s OCH3 and water with F = -(27.53 +/- 0.04) + (0.125 +/- 0.001) x T and F = -(27.61 +/- 0.02) + (0.129 +/- 0.001) x T, respectively, with F in ppm and T in degrees C. However, the differences are minuscule even for the highest spectral resolution of 0.001 ppm/pt, so that they are indistinguishable under practical conditions. The estimated temperature errors are +/- 0.18 degrees C for water and +/- 0.14 degrees C for plasma and with that only slightly worse than the measurement accuracy of the fiber-optical temperature probe (+/- 0.1 degrees C). It can be concluded that the results obtained indicate the feasibility of the 1H spectroscopy method in conjunction with the Pr[MOE-DO3A] probe for absolute temperature measurements, with a maximum accuracy of +/- 0.2 degrees C.