Abstract #4766

Comparison of Look-Locker and Variable Flip Angle T1 Mapping for DCE-MRI in Prostate Patients at 3T

Wei Liu^1,2, Baris Turkbey², Julien Senegas³, Stefanie Remmele³, Christian Stehning³, Dagane Daar⁴, Yuxi Pang⁵, Marcelino Bernardo⁴, Peter Choyke²

¹Clinical Sites Research Program, Philips Research North America, Briarcliff Manor, NY, United States; ²Molecular Imaging Program, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, United States; ³Sector of Tomographic Imaging, Philips Research Europe, Hamburg, Germany; ⁴Molecular Imaging Program, National Cancer Institute, SAIC-Frederick Inc., Bethesda, MD, United States; ⁵Philips Healthcare, Cleveland, OH, United States

T1 maps from variable flip angle (VFA) approach were compared with Look-Locker T1 maps to investigate the accuracy of the VFA T1 mapping in prostate cancer patients. Despite larger variations and lower SNR, VFA T1 mapping demonstrated a good correlation with the Look-Locker technique for prostate T1. Pharmacokinetic parameters based on VFA and Look-Locker T1 maps demonstrated similar performance in differentiation of tumor tissues. Our results suggest that with actual flip angle correction and slice oversampling to suppress inflow, VFA approach can generate satisfactory T1 maps for DCE MRI in patients undergoing MRI for prostate cancer.