A novel method for analysis of TOMROP data

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Abstract
Purpose To develop an efficient method for extracting maps of the corrected T1 from images generated using the T One by Multiple Read Out Pulses (TOMROP) sequence. Materials and Methods An expression is developed for the true T1 in terms of the parameters from a three-parameter fit of the TOMROP data. Solutions of gadodiamide in normal saline with concentrations of 0.0, 0.06, 0.11, 0.23, 0.46, and 0.91 mM were prepared and T1 measurements were performed using both the inversion recovery (IR) and the TOMROP methods. The TOMROP data were analyzed using the proposed technique and the results compared to those from the IR measurements. Results The T1 estimates generated from the TOMROP data using the proposed method were consistent with the IR results. However, systematic errors were observed in the T1 estimates when the repetition time was not sufficient for full recovery of axial magnetization. Relaxation times determined using the proposed method were within 1% of the spectroscopiclly determined values for T1 values in the range of 0.28–2.8 seconds when a suitable delay was employed. Conclusion The proposed method of analysis was found to yield accurate T1 estimates when the assumptions used in the analysis were not violated. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2004;19:508–512.