BACKGROUND: T1 mapping allows direct in-vivo quantitation of microscopic changes in the myocardium, providing new diagnostic insights into cardiac disease. Existing methods require long breath holds that are demanding for many cardiac patients. In this work we propose and validate a novel, clinically applicable, pulse sequence for myocardial T1-mapping that is compatible with typical limits for end-expiration breath-holding in patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Shortened MOdified Look-Locker Inversion recovery (ShMOLLI) method uses sequential inversion recovery measurements within a single short breath-hold. Full recovery of the longitudinal magnetisation between sequential inversion pulses is not achieved, but conditional interpretation of samples for reconstruction of T1-maps is used to yield accurate measurements, and this algorithm is implemented directly on the scanner. We performed computer simulations for 100 ms
Journal article
J Cardiovasc Magn Reson
19/11/2010
12
Adult, Algorithms, Cardiac-Gated Imaging Techniques, Computer Simulation, Contrast Media, Electrocardiography, England, Female, Gadolinium DTPA, Heart Rate, Humans, Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Myocardial Infarction, Phantoms, Imaging, Predictive Value of Tests, Reproducibility of Results, Respiratory Mechanics, Time Factors