Cartesian dictionary‐based native T1and T2mapping of the myocardium

Purpose To implement and evaluate a new dictionary‐based technique for native myocardial T 1 and T 2 mapping using Cartesian sampling. Methods The proposed technique (Multimapping) consisted of single‐shot Cartesian image acquisitions in 10 consecutive cardiac cycles, with inversion pulses in cycle 1 and 5, and T 2 preparation (TE: 30 ms, 50 ms, and 70 ms) in cycles 8–10. Multimapping was simulated for different T 1 and T 2 , where entries corresponding to the k‐space centers were matched to acquired data. Experiments were performed in a phantom, 16 healthy subjects, and 3 patients with cardiovascular disease. Results Multimapping phantom measurements showed good agreement with reference values for both T 1 and T 2 , with no discernable heart‐rate dependency for T 1 and T 2 within the range of myocardium. In vivo mean T 1 in healthy subjects was significantly higher using Multimapping (T 1 = 1114 ± 14 ms) compared to the reference (T 1 = 991 ± 26 ms) ( p < 0.01). Mean Multimapping T 2 (47.1 ± 1.3 ms) and T 2 spatial variability (5.8 ± 1.0 ms) was significantly lower compared to the reference (T 2 = 54.7 ± 2.2 ms, p < 0.001; spatial variability = 8.4 ± 2.0 ms, p < 0.01). Increased T 1 and T 2 was detected in all patients using Multimapping. Conclusions Multimapping allows for simultaneous native myocardial T 1 and T 2 mapping with a conventional Cartesian trajectory, demonstrating promising in vivo image quality and parameter quantification results.