Abstract

Quantitative myocardial tissue characterization with T1 and T2 parametric mapping can provide an accurate and complete assessment of tissue abnormalities across a broad range of cardiomyopathies. However, current clinical T1 and T2 mapping tools rely predominantly on two-dimensional (2D) breath-hold sequences. Clinical adoption of three-dimensional (3D) techniques is limited by long scan duration. The aim of this study is to develop and validate a time-efficient 3D free-breathing simultaneous T1 and T2 mapping sequence using multi-parametric SAturation-recovery and Variable-flip-Angle (mSAVA). mSAVA acquires four volumes for simultaneous whole-heart T1 and T2 mapping. We validated mSAVA using simulations, phantoms, and in-vivo experiments at 3T in 11 healthy subjects and 11 patients with diverse cardiomyopathies. T1 and T2 values by mSAVA were compared with modified Look-Locker inversion recovery (MOLLI) and gradient and spin echo (GraSE), respectively. The clinical performance of mSAVA was evaluated against late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) imaging in patients. Phantom T1 and T2 by mSAVA showed a strong correlation to reference sequences (R2 = 0.98 and 0.99). In-vivo imaging with an imaging resolution of 1.5 × 1.5 × 8 mm3 could be achieved. Myocardial T1 and T2 of healthy subjects by mSAVA were 1310 ± 46 and 44.6 ± 2.0 ms, respectively, with T1 standard deviation higher than MOLLI (105 ± 12 vs 60 ± 16 ms) and T2 standard deviation lower than GraSE (4.5 ± 0.8 vs 5.5 ± 1.0 ms). mSAVA T1 and T2 maps presented consistent findings in patients undergoing LGE. Myocardial T1 and T2 of all patients by mSAVA were 1421 ± 79 and 47.2 ± 3.3 ms, respectively. mSAVA is a fast 3D technique promising for clinical whole-heart T1 and T2 mapping.