Measurement of R1 dynamics using sliding window‐DESPOT

Purpose: To measure longitudinal relaxation rate (R1) changes during contrast agent studies using a driven equilibrium single pulse observation of T1 (DESPOT) method with a sliding window (sw) acquisition. Materials and Methods: A sw‐DESPOT technique was implemented that uses several three‐dimensional (3D) image data sets to calculate R1 with a temporal resolution of only a single data set. Different sources of systematic errors were studied in simulations, and the technique was tested in a tumor‐bearing mouse using an intravascular contrast agent. Results: Consistent concentration distributions of the CA were calculated with a temporal resolution of 10 s. Conclusion: Sw‐DESPOT offers a precise and fast method to monitor the CA dynamics in 3D volumes. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2009;30:1163–1170. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.