Single breath‐hold T 1 measurement using low flip angle TrueFISP

A method for estimating T 1 using a single breath‐hold, segmented, inversion recovery prepared, true fast imaging with steady‐state precession (sIR‐TrueFISP) acquisition at low flip angle (FA) was implemented in this study. T 1 values measured by sIR‐TrueFISP technique in a Gd‐DTPA‐doped water phantom and the human brain and abdomen of healthy volunteers were compared with the results of the standard IR fast spin echo (FSE) technique. A good correlation between the two methods was observed ( R 2 = 0.999 in the phantom, and R 2 = 0.943 in the brain and abdominal tissues). The T 1 values of the tissues agreed well with published results. sIR‐TrueFISP enables fast measurements of T 1 to be obtained within a single breath‐hold with good accuracy, which is particularly important for chest and abdominal imaging. Magn Reson Med, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.