Motivation: 3D whole-heart joint T1/T1ρ/T2 mapping has recently been proposed at 0.55T with continuous wave (CW) T1ρ-preparation. However, the CW T1ρ spin-lock amplitude was relatively small limiting T1ρ dispersion. Goal(s): To develop a novel free-breathing, 3D joint T1/T1ρ-adiabatic/T2 mapping sequence, with adiabatic T1ρ-preparation to improve dispersion, to provide whole-heart T1, T1ρ-adiabatic, and T2 maps and co-registered water/fat volumes in a ~10 min scan at 0.55T. Approach: The sequence was tested on phantoms and in-vivo with 4 healthy subjects and 1 patient and compared with conventional 2D mapping references. Results: Preliminary 3D joint T1/T1ρ-adiabatic/T2 mapping results demonstrate good agreement in phantoms and promising results in-vivo. Impact: 3D whole-heart T1, T1ρ-adiabatic and T2 maps and co-registered water-fat volumes with isotropic resolution for comprehensive myocardial tissue characterization can be obtained in a single scan of ~10 min at 0.55T.
Crabb et al. (Tue,) studied this question.