Quantitative T1 mapping and absolute water content measurement using MRI

• Published in: International Congress series Vol. 1265; pp. 113 - 123
• Main Authors: Neeb, Heiko, Dierkes, Thomas, Shah, N.Jon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.08.2019
• Subjects: Magnetic resonance imaging; Quantitative imaging; T1 mapping; T2 mapping; Water content; T 1 mapping; Quantitative imaging; Magnetic resonance imaging; T 2 mapping; Water content
• ISSN: 0531-5131; 1873-6157
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ics.2004.02.168

We present two methods for the mapping of the T 1 and T 2* relaxation times. A recently published sequence, T 1 mApping with Partial Inversion Recovery (TAPIR), is used for T 1 mapping in a cohort of patients suffering from hepatic encephalopathy (HE). TAPIR enables the fast and precise measurement of T 1 with whole brain coverage in approximately 5 min, which makes it a favourable tool for clinical applications. A clear correlation between HE severity and T 1 measured with TAPIR is demonstrated for several brain regions. Patients and control subjects could be classified solely based on their T 1 pattern by making use of unsupervised pattern recognition tools. In addition, a newly developed sequence termed QUanTitativE-EPI (QUTE-EPI) is presented for the fast and precise mapping of T 2* without significant image distortions. The information provided by TAPIR and QUTE-EPI can be used to extract an absolute measure of water content in vivo by MRI. The procedure of H 2O content mapping is described and results are presented. We demonstrate that in vivo water measurement is possible in clinically relevant measurement times with a statistical and systematic measurement error <2%.