Abstract #1310

Optimization of Flip Angles in SPGR Imaging for Quantitative T1 Mapping of the Cervical Spinal Cord at 3.0 T

Iordanis E. Evangelou¹, Vasiliki N. Ikonomidou¹, Marcela Montequin², Nancy D. Richert¹, Henry F. McFarland¹, Steve Jacobson¹

¹Neuroimmunology Branch, NINDS, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA; ²Functional MRI Facility, NIMH, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA

T₁ maps can be calculated from SPGR images acquired with different flip angles and/or repetition times. Here we optimize flip angles for accurate T₁ measurement of the cervical spinal cord at 3.0T under the presence of noise in a Monte Carlo simulation using the Driven Equilibrium Single Pulse Observation of T₁ (DESPOT1) sequence.