Abstract
Two‐dimensional (2D) prior‐knowledge fitting (ProFit) was adapted and applied for the quantification of J‐resolved (__J__PRESS) spectra acquired at a field strength of 3T from the human prostate in vivo. In contrast to methods based on simple line fitting and peak integration, commonly applied for metabolite quantification in the prostate, ProFit yields metabolite concentration ratios that are independent of sequence and field strength, since it is based on the linear combination of 2D basis spectra. It is demonstrated that ProFit benefits from the increased information content and reduced baseline distortion in __J__PRESS prostate spectra, in particular for the quantification of coupled metabolites like citrate (Cit), spermine (Spm), and myo‐inositol (mI). The method is validated with 10 repetitive prostate measurements on the same subject. Furthermore, a study carried out on 10 healthy subjects shows that the six prostate metabolites creatine (Cr), total choline (Cho), Cit, Spm, mI, and scyllo‐inositol (sI) can be reliably detected in vivo, some of which—especially total Cho and Cit—have proven to be useful markers for the detection of prostate cancer. Magn Reson Med 59:966–972, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.