A flexible magnetization transfer line shape derived from tissue experimental data

Abstract
To summarize and compare magnetization transfer data from biological tissues, a method was developed to extract the average absorption lineshape of the semi‐solid pool directly from magnetization transfer experimental data along with the four other parameters that characterize the two‐pool model of exchange. Magnetization transfer data for several biological tissues were analyzed using this method and the resulting “flexible” lineshapes were compared with super‐Lorentzian and “Kubo‐Tomita” lineshapes. The use of flexible lineshapes noticeably improves the fit of the two‐pool model to the data. The derived flexible lineshapes of all the tissues analyzed are physically realistic and show remarkably consistent behavior.