title: Fast T1 mapping of the brain at high field using Look-Locker and fast imaging.
abstract: This study aims to develop and evaluate a new method for fast high resolution T1 mapping of the brain based on the Look-Locker technique. Single-shot turboflash sequence with high temporal acceleration is used to sample the recovery of inverted magnetization. Multi-slice interleaved acquisition within one inversion slab is used to reduce the number of inversion pulses and hence SAR. Accuracy of the proposed method was studied using simulation and validated in phantoms. It was then evaluated in healthy volunteers and stroke patients. In-vivo results were compared to values obtained by inversion recovery fast spin echo (IR-FSE) and literatures. With the new method, T1values in phantom experiments agreed with reference values with median error <3%. For in-vivo experiments, a T1 map was acquired in 3.35s and the T1 maps of the whole brain were acquired in 2min with two-slice interleaving, with a spatial resolution of 1.1×1.1×4mm3. The T1values obtained were comparable to those measured with IR-FSE and those reported in literatures. These results demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed method for fast T1 mapping of the brain in both healthy volunteers and stroke patients at 3T.
authors.affiliation: Paul C. Lauterbur Research Centre for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China; Shenzhen Key Laboratory for MRI, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Ke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Paul C. Lauterbur Research Centre for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China; Shenzhen Key Laboratory for MRI, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. Electronic address: yj.zhu@siat.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Yanjie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Paul C. Lauterbur Research Centre for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China; Shenzhen Key Laboratory for MRI, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Sen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Paul C. Lauterbur Research Centre for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China; Shenzhen Key Laboratory for MRI, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Yin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Paul C. Lauterbur Research Centre for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China; Shenzhen Key Laboratory for MRI, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Paul C. Lauterbur Research Centre for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China; Shenzhen Key Laboratory for MRI, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Yiu-Cho
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Brain T1 mapping; Interleaved acquisition; Inversion recovery turboflash; Look-Locker technique