The present invention includes a method for MR imaging of a biological
matter having H.sub.2O.sup.17 content by performing T1.sub..rho..sup.off
imaging of said H.sub.2O.sup.17 content in said biological matter. The
T1.sub..rho..sup.off imaging is performed by applying an RF pulse with a
resonance frequency offset to said biological matter to create off
resonance spin locking conditions in said biological matter. Thus, parts
of the biological matter having different H.sub.2O.sup.17 concentrations
are differentiated because of their different T2/T1 ratios.
