Chemical exchange sensitive MRI of glucose uptake using xylose as a contrast agent

Purpose Glucose and its analogs can be detected by CEST and chemical exchange spin‐lock (CESL) MRI techniques, but sensitivity is still a bottleneck for human applications. Here, CESL and CEST sensitivity and the effect of injection on baseline physiology were evaluated for a glucose analog, xylose. Methods The CEST and CESL sensitivity were evaluated at 9.4 T in phantoms and by in vivo rat experiments with 0.5 and 1 g/kg xylose injections....