title: Simultaneous T1 and T2 quantification of the myocardium using cardiac balanced-SSFP inversion recovery with interleaved sampling acquisition (CABIRIA).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To develop a novel sequence for simultaneous quantification of T1 and T2 relaxation times in the myocardium based on the transient phase of the balanced steady-state free precession.
  
  
  METHODS
  A new prototype sequence, named "cardiac balanced-SSFP inversion recovery with interleaved sampling acquisition" (CABIRIA) was developed based on a single-shot bSSFP readout following an inversion pulse. With this method, T1 and T2 values can be calculated from the analysis of signal evolution. The scan duration for a single slice in vivo was 8 heartbeats, thus feasible in a breath-hold. The sequence was validated both in vitro by comparing it to conventional inversion recovery and multi-echo spin-echo methods and in 5 healthy volunteers by comparing it to the Modified Look-Locker Inversion Recovery (MOLLI) sequence and to a T2 quantification sequence based on multi-T2 -prepared bSSFP.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The method showed good agreement with conventional methods for both T1 and T2 measurements (concordance correlation coefficient ≥ 0.99) in vitro. In healthy volunteers the measured T1 values were 1227 ± 68 ms and T2 values 37.9 ± 2.4 ms, with similar inter- and intrasubject variability with respect to existing methods.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The proposed CABIRIA method enables simultaneous quantification of myocardial T1 and T2 values with good accuracy and precision.
authors.affiliation: Division of Radiological Physics, University of Basel Hospital, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Santini
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University of Basel Hospital, Basel, Switzerland.|Department of Radiology, Kantonsspital Graubuenden, Chur, Switzerland.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kawel-Boehm
authors.affiliation: Siemens AG Healthcare Sector, Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Greiser
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University of Basel Hospital, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bremerich
authors.affiliation: Division of Radiological Physics, University of Basel Hospital, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bieri
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D016477:Artifacts; D005260:Female; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D064847:Multimodal Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D015656:Respiratory Mechanics; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted
keywords: balanced steady-state free precession; cardiac MRI; cardiac relaxometry; inversion recovery