Motivation: Obtaining consistent quantitative maps of myelin content and relaxation times across different sites and vendors is crucial for advancing our understanding of brain development. Goal(s): To develop rapid, vendor-agnostic joint T1, T2, and myelin water fraction mapping. Approach: We enhanced the 3D-QALAS method to include an additional T2-preparation module, and improved the AFI technique to rapidly obtain B1+ and B1- maps. We used our dictionary-based fitting and three-compartment modeling for joint mapping. Results: Phantom and in vivo validation confirmed the sensitivity and accuracy of our methods for short T2 values (i.e. myelin) and demonstrated consistency across multiple scanner types. Impact: A vendor-agnostic sequence for joint and rapid acquisition of T1, T2, and myelin water fraction maps was proposed. Along with the harmonized calibration scan, this package could be a valuable tool for multi-site/multi-vendor neuroimaging studies in adult and pediatric populations.
Fujita et al. (Tue,) studied this question.