Automated analysis of 1H magnetic resonance metabolic imaging data as an aid to clinical decision-making in the evaluation of intracranial lesions.

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (1H MRSI) is a noninvasive metabolic imaging technique that has emerged as a potentially powerful tool for complementing structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the clinical evaluation of neurological disorders and diagnostic decision-making. However, the relative complexity of methods that are currently available for analyzing the derived multi-dimensional metabolic imaging data has slowed incorporation of the technique into routine clinical practice. This paper discusses this impediment to widespread clinical use of 1H MRSI and then describes an automated data analysis approach that promises to facilitate use of the technique in the evaluation of intracranial lesions, with the potential to enhance the specificity of MRI and improve clinical decision-making.