Abstract #4411

Towards Tissue Characterization of the Spinal Cord: High-Resolution T1 Relaxometry with Precise B1+-Mapping of the Spinal Cord at 3T

Matthias Weigel¹, Orso Pusterla¹, Monika Gloor¹, and Oliver Bieri¹

¹Dept. of Radiology, Radiological Physics, University of Basel Hospital, Basel, Switzerland

A high-resolution T1 mapping protocol for the spinal cord (SC) based on ultra-fast RF spoiled gradient echo sequences with initial precise B1-Tx mapping was developed. The measured T1 values for white matter (WM-SC) of 976ms and for gray matter (GM-SC) of 1154ms deviate notably from the corresponding T1 values found for the human cerebellum at 3T. This finding may partially explain the relatively low contrast between GM-SC and WM-SC frequently observed in SC imaging. Furthermore, the knowledge of these precise T1 values will allow to set up dedicated SC imaging protocols with an optimized GM-SC/WM-SC contrast in the future.

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