Work

Rapid 3D whole‐brain high‐resolution T 1 quantification: Accelerating standard inversion recovery with stack‐of‐spirals turbo FLASH acquisition

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Purpose An inversion recovery (IR) with an efficient three‐dimensional (3D) readout for rapid whole‐brain high‐resolution T 1 quantification is highly desirable. The present work aims to propose and evaluate the IR‐based T 1 mapping using stack‐of‐spirals turbo FLASH (SOS‐TFL) acquisition. Methods The proposed IR sequence with multiple inversion times was preceded with a short saturation time (T sat ) and followed by a long 3D SOS‐TFL readout. Its accuracy was evaluated through both a mixed doped‐water and gel phantom and in vivo experiments by comparing protocols using varying T sat values with a reference two‐dimensional readout with a long T sat . The performance of further acceleration was evaluated with different undersampling factors. Results The fitted T 1 maps showed excellent agreement between the reference two‐dimensional readout and 3D SOS‐TFL acquisitions, as well as between those with no in‐plane undersampling and those with prospectively moderate undersampling. This study demonstrated the feasibility of IR (8 inversion times)–based T 1 mapping equipped with 3D SOS‐TFL acquisition to achieve whole‐brain coverage with 1.0‐mm isotropic resolution for 3–4 min, by using a short T sat (2000 ms), a long echo train (1425 ms), and an easily achieved in‐plane compressed‐sensing acceleration factor ( R = 3–4) combined with a through‐plane sensitivity‐encoding factor of 2. Conclusion This study demonstrates a fast whole‐brain, high‐resolution, IR‐based T 1 mapping method with a vendor‐provided 3D SOS‐TFL readout. The acquisition was accelerated without the need for complex undersampling and reconstruction strategies. Its feasibility and accuracy were evaluated on a phantom and among healthy subjects.

Source: Magnetic Resonance in Medicine

DOI: 10.1002/mrm.70112

Authors: Zhen Hu, Dan Zhu, Yuguo Li, Jiadi Xu, Qin Qin

Institutions: Kennedy Krieger Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Language: English

Topic: Advanced MRI Techniques and Applications

Subfield: Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green