The aim of this thesis was to develop advanced body MR
techniques that can contribute to
the knowledge of the metabolic syndrome (MetS). Such techniques are important
since
the incidence of the metabolic syndrome is reaching pandemic proportions.
We looked In the first part of this thesis, consisting of chapters 2, 3 and
4, new techniques for body
MR were developed. Firstly high dielectric passive shimming was developed and
applied on liver imaging to increase image quality. Furthermore, the required
power was reduced by applying the passive shimming method. Secondly MR
spectroscopy was optimized to reliably measure lipid levels in the heart and
kidney. By looking at the various parameters and optimizing them individually
very high measurement reproducibility was reached. Even though MR
spectroscopy is a great tool for studying MetS the complexity of the
technique hampers broad application therefore, extra emphasis was placed on
the ease of use of the developed protocol. In the second part of the thesis
the previously mentioned methods were applied in a more clinical setting.
Nierstichting; HartstichtingLUMC / Geneeskund
