Jennifer G Whisenant1, Richard D Dortch1, Lori A Arlinghaus1, William A Grissom1, Hakmook Kang1, and Thomas E Yankeelov1
This study evaluated the
ability of Bloch-Siegert B1
mapping to improve the accuracy and precision of variable flip angle
(VFA)-derived T1
measurements of the breast at 3.0 T. Accuracy was evaluated by comparing VFA T1 values to inversion
recovery measurements in a cohort of 16 healthy women. A reproducibility
analysis from test-retest sessions within the same cohort was used to evaluate
precision. After Bloch-Siegert B1
correction, accuracy of T1
measurements in the fat and fibroglandular tissue improved and measurement variability
decreased. Thus, these results suggest that Bloch-Siegert B1 mapping is an attractive correction method for quickly
obtaining accurate and precise measurements of T1 values of the breast at 3.0 T.
