Free‐breathing multislice native myocardial T₁ mapping using the slice‐interleaved T₁ (STONE) sequence

Purpose To develop a novel pulse sequence for free‐breathing, multislice, native myocardial T 1 mapping. Methods The slice‐interleaved T 1 (STONE) sequence consists of multiple sets of single‐shot images of different slices, acquired after a single nonselective inversion pulse. Each slice is only selectively excited once after each inversion pulse to allow sampling of the unperturbed longitudinal magnetization in the adjacent slices. For respiratory motion, a prospective slice‐tracking respiratory navigator is used to decrease through‐plane motion followed by a retrospective image registration to reduce in‐plane motion. STONE T 1 maps were calculated using both a two‐parameter and three‐parameter fit model. The accuracy and precision of the STONE sequence for different T 1 , T 2 , and inversion pulse efficiency were studied using numerical simulations and phantom experiments. T 1 maps from 14 subjects were acquired with the STONE sequence and T 1 s were compared to the MOdified Look‐Locker Inversion recovery sequence (MOLLI). Results In numerical simulations and phantom experiments, the STONE sequence using a two‐parameter fit model yields more accurate T 1 times compared to MOLLI, with similar high precision. The three‐parameter fit model further improves the accuracy, but with a reduced precision. The native myocardial T 1 times were higher in the STONE sequence using two‐ or three‐parameter fit compared to MOLLI. The standard deviation of the T 1 times was lower in the STONE T 1 maps with a two‐parameter fit compared with MOLLI or a three‐parameter fit. Conclusion The STONE sequence allows accurate and precise quantification of native myocardial T 1 times with the additional benefit of covering the entire ventricle. Magn Reson Med 74:115–124, 2015.