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Fast dynamic imaging of hyperpolarized ¹³C‐labeled pyruvate and its downstream metabolites shows great potential for probing metabolic changes in the heart. Sequences that allow for fast encoding of the spectral and spatial information of the myocardial metabolism and optimal signal excitation are usually limited by gradient performance, especially at high magnetic fields. Here we propose a combination of a spectral‐spatial multiband excitation and multiecho readout to overcome these limitations.

By using a low‐bandwidth, two‐pulse excitation, a thinner slice compared with conventional spectral‐spatial excitation is achieved, while at the same time allowing for low flip angle excitation on pyruvate and high flip angle excitation on bicarbonate and lactate, which optimizes signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) in cardiac metabolic imaging. The implementation was evaluated in 13 healthy female …