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Modified Look‐Locker inversion recovery (MOLLI) for high‐resolution T 1 mapping of the heart
Author(s) -
Messroghli Daniel R.,
Radjenovic Aleksandra,
Kozerke Sebastian,
Higgins David M.,
Sivananthan Mohan U.,
Ridgway John P.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
magnetic resonance in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.696
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1522-2594
pISSN - 0740-3194
DOI - 10.1002/mrm.20110
Subject(s) - steady state free precession imaging , nuclear medicine , myocardial infarction , physics , nuclear magnetic resonance , medicine , computer science , mathematics , magnetic resonance imaging , radiology , cardiology
A novel pulse sequence scheme is presented that allows the measurement and mapping of myocardial T 1 in vivo on a 1.5 Tesla MR system within a single breath‐hold. Two major modifications of conventional Look‐Locker (LL) imaging are introduced: 1) selective data acquisition, and 2) merging of data from multiple LL experiments into one data set. Each modified LL inversion recovery (MOLLI) study consisted of three successive LL inversion recovery (IR) experiments with different inversion times. We acquired images in late diastole using a single‐shot steady‐state free‐precession (SSFP) technique, combined with sensitivity encoding to achieve a data acquisition window of <200 ms duration. We calculated T 1 using signal intensities from regions of interest and pixel by pixel. T 1 accuracy at different heart rates derived from simulated ECG signals was tested in phantoms. T 1 estimates showed small systematic error for T 1 values from 191 to 1196 ms. In vivo T 1 mapping was performed in two healthy volunteers and in one patient with acute myocardial infarction before and after administration of Gd‐DTPA. T 1 values for myocardium and noncardiac structures were in good agreement with values available from the literature. The region of infarction was clearly visualized. MOLLI provides high‐resolution T 1 maps of human myocardium in native and post‐contrast situations within a single breath‐hold. Magn Reson Med 52:141–146, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.