Correcting for imaging gradients-related bias of T-2 relaxation times at high-resolution MRI

Purpose High-resolution animal imaging is an integral part of preclinical drug development and the investigation of diseases' pathophysiology. Quantitative mapping of T-2 relaxation times (qT(2)) is a valuable tool for both preclinical and research applications, providing high sensitivity to subtle tissue pathologies. High-resolution T-2 mapping, however, suffers from severe underestimation of T-2 values due to molecular diffusion. This affects both single-echo and multi-echo spin echo (SSE and MESE), on top of the well-known contamination of MESE signals by stimulated echoes, and especially on high-field and preclinical scanners in which high imaging gradients are used in comparison to clinical scanners. Methods Diffusion bias due to imaging gradients was analyzed by quantifying the effective b-value for each coherence pathway in SSE and MESE protocols, and incorporating this information in a joint T-2-diffusion reconstruction algorithm. Validation was done on phantoms and in vivo mouse brain using a 9.4T and a 7T MRI scanner. Results Underestimation of T-2 values due to strong imaging gradients can reach up to 70%, depending on scan parameters and on the sample's diffusion coefficient. The algorithm presented here produced T-2 values that agreed with reference spectroscopic measurements, were reproducible across scan settings, and reduced the average bias of T-2 values from -33.5 +/- 20.5% to -0.1 +/- 3.6%. Conclusions A new joint T-2-diffusion reconstruction algorithm is able to negate imaging gradient-related underestimation of T-2 values, leading to reliable mapping of T-2 values at high resolutions.