Sha Zhao1,2, David L. Buckley3,
Geoff J. M. Parker1,2
1Imaging Science, the
University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom; 2Biomedical
Imaging Institute, the University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom; 3Division
of Medical Physics, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
We propose a method for multicomponent T2 imaging of the brain at 3 T using least squares fitting for turbo-spin-echo imaging data. Commonly multiple echo data of a CPMG sequence are acquired then NNLS transformed to generate T2 spectrum images. At 3 T RF inhomogeneity affects magnetisation refocusing pulses, leading to contamination by stimulated echo signals, which degrades the generated T2 spectrum images. We present a least squares fitting method that takes into consideration the signal contribution from stimulated echoes and is capable of generating T2 component images that are less affected by RF field inhomogeneity.
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