Conformal image-selected in vivo spectroscopy

In spatially selected MR spectroscopy, the cuboid or rectilinear volume specified by most sequences is not well matched to the shape of tumors, leading to contamination or to poor use of the available signal. In this paper a method of selecting volumes more closely conformed to tumor shape is proposed. The technique relies on the use of additional preparation or selection episodes, together with the simultaneous use of the the three orthogonal gradients. This has been developed primarily for use with ISIS, where it is combined with appropriate addition schedules, allowing regular or irregular volumes such as parallelepipeds, octahedra, and dodecahedra to be selected. The method may also be extended to improve conformation in other localization methods