Application of Multi-Echo SSFP Sequences Using Multiple Pathways on Short T2 Mapping

Motivation: T2 mapping is crucial for identifying abnormal tissues, while 3D clinically-approved T2 mapping sequence suffers from tradeoffs between the acquisition time and accuracy. Goal(s): To improve and validate the accuracy of short T2 mapping using the 3D multi-pathway multi-echo (MPME) sequence and its variant. Approach: The T2 calculation procedure from MPME sequence is incorporated with multi-dimensional integration (MDI) for improved accuracy. A dual-pathway dual-echo variant is developed for reducing the acquisition time. Results: Phantom results demonstrate the short T2 mapping accuracy and precision of MPME and DPDE incorporated with MDI, as compared to the reference values. Impact: Integrating MPME with MDI significantly improves its T2 mapping accuracy and precision, especially in the short T2 range, inspiring novel clinical applications that require high-speed 3D T2 mapping techniques.