Abstract #0927

Liu W, Dahnke H, Lewis B, Jordan E, Banu N, Schaeffter T, Frank J

A new method was proposed to measure fast decaying T2* relaxation in tissues containing highly concentrated iron labeled cells, where T2* decay is too rapid for regular multiple gradient echo T2* mapping. In vivo MR experiments in rats with iron labeled tumors demonstrate that this method can quantify ultrashort T2* down to 1 millisecond or less. Combined with the regular T2* mapping, the new technique is expected to improve the in vivo quantification and monitoring of tissues containing heavily iron labeled cells.