Quantification of T1 and relative proton density in the brain ultrashort-T2* component

This study presents a VFA approach for quantification of T₁ and relative proton density of the brain ultrashort-T₂* component. Measured T₁ values corresponding to the ultrashort-T₂* component were lower compared to T₁ values corresponding to long-T₂* components, and did not exhibit gray/white matter differences. Qualitatively, ultrashort-T₂* component fraction maps showed better gray/white matter contrast and clearer white matter structure delineation which we expect to be a more accurate representation of relative proton density. These results show that added VFA T₁ encoding in characterization of the brain ultrashort-T₂* component can more accurately differentiate white matter anatomy.