Quantitative T 2 mapping using accelerated 3D stack-of-spiral gradient echo readout.

PURPOSE: To develop a rapid T2 mapping protocol using optimized spiral acquisition, accelerated reconstruction, and model fitting.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A T2 -prepared stack-of-spiral gradient echo (GRE) pulse sequence was applied. A model-based approach joined with compressed sensing was compared with the two methods applied separately for accelerated reconstruction and T2 mapping. A 2-parameter-weighted fitting method was compared with 2- or 3-parameter models for accurate T2 estimation under the influences of noise and B1 inhomogeneity. The performance was evaluated using both digital phantoms and healthy volunteers. Mitigating partial voluming with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was also tested.