Golden-angle radial automated phase-cycled bSSFP for fat-water decomposition with SPARCQ: validation in a custom phantom and in vivo

The Signal Profiles Asymmetries for Robust multi-Compartment Quantification (SPARCQ) framework uses the off-resonance information encoded in phase-cycled bSSFP (PC-bSSFP) data to estimate fat fraction (FF). In order to strengthen previous validation work as well as open the range of applicability of the technique, in this work a 2D radial bSSFP sequence with integrated automated phase-cycling was designed and the accuracy of SPARCQ was tested in vitro on a larger FF range than previously reported. Comparisons to reference methods and sampling schemes indicate that the proposed automated 2D radial sampling scheme allows accurate FF mapping with SPARCQ while improving scan efficiency.