Abstract #1183

Clinical T1 Mapping in the Heart - Improved T1 Map Image Quality by Automated Motion Correction for Modified Look-Locker Inversion-Recovery (MOLLI)

Martin Ugander¹, Hui Xue², Jens Guehring³, Saurabh Shah⁴, Li-Yueh Hsu¹, Andrew E. Arai¹, Peter Kellman¹

¹National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States; ²Siemens Corporate Research, Princeton, NJ, United States; ³Siemens AG Healthcare Sector, Erlangen, Germany; ⁴Siemens Medical Solutions, Chicago, IL, United States

T1 mapping is emerging as a tool for quantitative assessment of myocardial disease. Quantitative T1 mapping can be undertaken using a Modified Look-Locker Inversion-recovery (MOLLI) sequence. We developed a fully automated motion-correction algorithm for MOLLI images. In 649 paired image comparisons from 178 patients, automated T1 map image quality following motion correction was assessed by a physician as unchanged in 91.8% of cases, improved in 7.6% of cases and worsened in 0.6% of cases. Automated motion correction in MOLLI imaging improves the image quality of both pre-contrast and post-contrast T1 maps of the heart in clinical patients.