IN-VIVO F-19 ONE-DIMENSIONAL CHEMICAL-SHIFT IMAGING STUDY OF ISOFLURANE UPTAKE IN RABBIT BRAIN

F-19 one-dimensional chemical shift imaging and one-pulse techniques w ere used to follow the uptake of isoflurane in rabbit brain in vivo. B rain isoflurane appeared mainly in two adjacent slices of cerebral cor tex. Both slices showed increase in anesthetic content at similar rate s. A biphasic first-order uptake pattern with an initial fast componen t and a slower rate for the duration of the uptake was observed by the one-pulse technique. Only the slower kinetic was followed by chemical shift imaging due to constraints on temporal resolution. Anesthetic l evels in arterial blood reached equilibrium significantly earlier than in brain, suggesting a 'restricted' diffusion into brain tissue for t his agent.