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Abstract:
What is a high magnetic field? For in vivo MR systems using small animals like mice or rats, magnets of field-strengths as high as 11.7T/31cm (500 MHz) are available. For research in humans the highest field currently available is 9.4T/65cm (400 MHz), while in the clinic the highest field is 3-4T/95cm (130-170MHz). MR spectroscopy evolved rapidly over the last decades, and it is now an important tool in chemical and biological research focused on molecular composition, structure, and dynamics. Experiments initially
conducted in cells and cell extracts, are now carried out in living animals and humans. Similarly, MRS applications in clinical diagnosis are growing steadily. The importance of field strength in such applications cannot be overemphasized. The several fold improved sensitivity at high fields enables the detailed quantitative study of both metabolic and neural signaling processes, as well as of their perturbations during disease.
