Optimizing acquisition and fitting conditions for 1 H MR spectroscopy investigations in global brain pathology.

The optimal voxel size for best precision in determined metabolite content is surprisingly large. Such an acquisition condition is most relevant for detection of low-concentration metabolites, like NAD+ or phenylalanine, but also for longitudinal studies where very small alterations in metabolite content are targeted. In addition, simultaneous fitting of single channel spectra enforcing lineshape and coil sensitivity information proved to be superior to traditional signal combination with subsequent fitting.