Single breath-hold lung T2* mapping using multi-echo 3D spiral UTE with tight interval δTE

Motivation: Single-echo lung T2* mapping requires multiple images at different echo times, leading to long scan times and potential registration issues. While multi-echo sequences reduce scan time by acquiring multiple echoes in one shot, the echo intervals remain too long for lung short T2*. Goal(s): We aim to shorten the echo intervals within a single breath-hold to enable quantitative lung T2* mapping. Approach: We performed a segmented readout in the radial-spiral hybrid trajectory. Results: As a result, our proposed method enables single breath-hold (15 s) lung T2* quantification with an echo interval of 0.57 ms and in-plane resolution of 2 mm. Impact: Our proposed method enables single breath-hold lung T2* quantification with a 0.57 ms echo interval and 2 mm in-plane resolution. Rapid and accurate T2* assessment in the lungs is crucial for evaluating structural and functional changes caused by lung diseases.