Theoretical evaluation and comparison of fast chemical shift imaging methods.

Magnetic resonance chemical shift imaging (CSI) is becoming the method of choice for localized NMR spectroscopic examinations, allowing simultaneous detection of NMR spectra from a large number of voxels. The main limitation of these methods is their long experimental duration. A number of fast CSI experiments have been presented, promising to reduce that duration. In this contribution the criteria for evaluating and optimizing the sensitivity of fast CSI experiments are elaborated. For a typical experiment in the human brain, the performance of various methods is compared. While conventional CSI provides optimal sensitivity per unit time, it is shown in which circumstances fast sequences allow a shorter experimental duration. Using these results, the best method for any experimental requirements can be selected.