Multinuclear MR imaging: a technique for combined anatomic and physiologic studies.

With the use of specially designed multiple-tuned probes for magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, data collection schemes can be developed for obtaining images of different nuclei simultaneously. Both phantom and in vivo MR images of two nuclei (either hydrogen-1, phosphorus-31, lithium-7, or fluorine-19) were obtained in the time span necessary to collect the image of the less sensitive nuclei. This technique offers a means by which physiologic and anatomic information can be gathered in a highly efficient fashion.