Hyperpolarized H2O MR angiography

The aim of this study was to demonstrate that dissolution‐ dynamic nuclear polarization is capable of hyperpolarizing water protons and that the signal from the hyperpolarized bolus injection can be exploited in angiographic applications. We hyperpolarized water/glycerol using dynamic nuclear polarization followed by dissolution in D2O. A water 1H signal enhancement of 77 times compared with 4.7 Tesla was obtained. This corresponds to a polarization of 3.5% for the 3.9 mol/L 1H in D2O . Moreover, a T1 in excess of 20 s was achieved. The use of hyperpolarized water as a contrast agent presents a new opportunity to obtain MRA images with high contrast‐to‐noise in a fraction of a second. Magn Reson Med 71:50–56, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.