The available imaging modalities used for the diagnosis of human disease include planar X-ray, computed tomography (CT), ultrasound (US), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), optical coherence tomography (OCT), single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), positron emission tomography (PET), and optical imaging. In particular, MRI is a non-invasive and non-ionizing technique that is able to provide images with a high spatial resolution and excellent contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) for soft tissues. Considering its advantages, MRI has developed as a critical research and diagnostic tool since its discovery in the early 1970s.¹  A potential limitation of MRI is that its sensitivity is lower than that of PET or SPECT. MR signal arises from a net magnetization due to the small population difference between the nuclear Zeeman energy levels of spin-½ nuclei in an external magnetic field. The polarization of the spin-½ nuclei is defined as the fraction of excess nuclei in the lower energy level.²  Conventional MRI detects hydrogen nuclei (¹H) and typical ¹H polarization values at body temperature and in clinical magnetic field strengths are 4.9×10⁻⁶ at 1.5 T and 9.9×10⁻⁶ at 3 T. Since polarization scales linearly with the magnetic field strength, sensitivity and thus signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of conventional MRI can be improved by increasing the magnetic field strength. The strongest magnet used for whole body human MRI research is currently 9.4 T (Max Planck Institute, Tübingen, Germany).³  The increase in magnetic field strength comes with additional challenges, including a higher specific absorption rate (SAR), and also interactions between the radio frequency (RF) field and tissue, which can cause image inhomogeneities.⁴