title: Water content profiles with a 1D centric SPRITE acquisition.
abstract: The purpose of this work is to develop a rapid MRI method amenable to profiling with minimal or no T(1) relaxation weighting. The behavior of a signal during a centric SPRITE acquisition is analyzed. It is shown that the technique can be made immune to a broad range of T(1) changes. In a properly executed measurement, only T(2)* and proton density parameters define the image intensity. A T(2)* mapping technique can be easily applied, separating T(2)* and proton density contributions to the image. A drying soil sample with low initial water content is experimentally studied as a demonstration of the technique. A characteristic baseline artifact is easily removed from the profiles by a simple operation.
authors.affiliation: MRI Centre, Department of Physics, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada E3B 5A3.
authors.forename: I V
authors.initials: IV
authors.lastname: Mastikhin
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mullally
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: MacMillan
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Balcom
mesh_terms: D016014:Linear Models; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011522:Protons; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D011522:Protons; D014867:Water