32 channel body

MRI studies of the lumbar spines of all participants were performed on a clinical 3 Tesla (T) MRI scanner (Magnetom Prisma, Siemens Healthineers, Erlangen, Germany) with a 32-channel body and a 24-channel spine matrix coil (Siemens Healthineers, Erlangen, Germany) in the supine position.
In line with earlier studies, the MRI exams comprised both morphologic and compositional sequences. The morphologic sequences included T1-weighted (T1w), T2-weighted (T2w), and short-tau-inversion-recovery (STIR) sequences in the sagittal orientation and a T2w sequence in the transversal orientation. Compositional imaging included CEST and Water Saturation Shift Referencing (WASSR) sequences to compensate for magnetic field inhomogeneities in the sagittal orientation. Detailed sequence parameters are presented in Table 2.

All participants underwent MR imaging of their lumbar spine on a whole-body clinical 3.0T MRI system (Magnetom Prisma, Siemens Healthineers, Erlangen, Germany). Patients were examined in the supine position and imaged with a 32-channel body and a 24-channel spine matrix coil (both Siemens Healthineers). The imaging protocol consisted of a clinical routine protocol, i.e., T1- (T1w) and T2-weighted (T2w) sequences and a short tau inversion recovery (STIR) sequence, and compositional sequences using gagCEST and water saturation shift referencing (WASSR) imaging. All sequences were acquired in the sagittal orientation. Detailed sequence parameters are given in Table 2.