Motivation: Quantitative MRI (qMRI) could provide microscopic insights into brain injuries in infants but is often limited by long scanning time. Goal(s): To investigate the potential of single-shot multiple overlapping-echo detachment (MOLED) imaging for motion-robust T2 and T2* mapping in awake infants. Approach: We acquired SEMOLED T2 and GREMOLED T2* maps from 8 infants (range, 10-390 days) with a total scan time of 16 seconds and compared brain T2 and T2* values across different age periods. Results: SEMOLED/GREMOLED maps demonstrated better motion tolerance than clinical MRI images. The measured T2 and T2* values show an exponentially decreasing trend with increasing age until adulthood. Impact: Due to its ultrafast quantification nature, MOLED makes it possible to quantitatively track brain development in infants affected by postnatal brain injuries, which has previously been challenging.
Ge et al. (Tue,) studied this question.