Book excerpt: MRI with hyperpolarized carbon-13 agents is a powerful emerging imaging modality that can measure real-time metabolism in cells, animals, and humans. It uses endogenous, non-toxic contrast agents that a hyperpolarized, resulting in up to 100,000-fold increases in sensitivity. This technique uses no ionizing radiation, and is being applied in a range of human trials. It's primary use is for metabolic imaging, but it can also measure perfusion, pH, and necrosis. Hyperpolarized Carbon-13 Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy is designed to be a one stop shop for understanding hyperpolarized 13C MRI. This book explains the principles of this imaging modality, the requirements for performing studies, shows how to interpret the results, and gives an overview of current biomedical applications. It is suitable for engineers, scientists and clinicians in radiology and biomedical imaging who want to understand this technology. - Presents the physics and hardware of dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization - Explains the behaviour of hyperpolarized carbon-13 agents and how to image them - Detailed guidance on experimental design and data interpretation - Identifies promising and potential applications of hyperpolarized carbon-13 MR