Combined application of MR imaging and spectroscopy in neonates and children: installation and operation of a 2.35-T system in a clinical setting.

Published pediatric magnetic resonance (MR) imaging results are usually obtained with medium-field-strength whole-body systems, while MR spectroscopy is done on a different high-field-strength/small-bore laboratory system. The authors investigated metabolism and structural development of the brain in over 100 neonates and children with combined MR imaging and spectroscopy at 2.35 T. With a 40-cm-bore magnet, MR imaging and spectroscopy data are obtained in the same session with use of the same system. The approach demands modified technical devices and elaborate patient handling. Concepts for sedation in different age groups and for patient monitoring, as well as protocols for the combined use of imaging and spectroscopy, have been worked out. The data prove high quality of imaging and spectroscopy at 2.35 T.