Valentina Taviani1, Diego Hernando1, Ann Shimakawa2, Jean H. Brittain3, Kevin M. Johnson1, Karl K. Vigen1, Scott B. Reeder1, 4
1Department of Radiology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States; 2Global MR Applied Science Laboratory, GE Healthcare, Menlo Park, CA, United States; 3Applied Science Laboratory, GE Healthcare, Madison, WI, United States; 4Department of Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
R2* mapping in the heart is important to quantify myocardial iron concentration as well as for accurate water-fat separation. However, R2* measurements in the myocardium are hampered by severe susceptibility variations due to the presence of tissue-air interfaces and deoxygenated blood in epicardial veins. In this work we propose a 3D free-breathing technique for water-fat separation and R2* mapping in the heart and we compare our 3D free-breathing approach with a previously reported 2D breath-hold technique. Both phantom experiments and preliminary data in healthy volunteers showed that the 3D free-breathing technique greatly reduced susceptibility-induced variations in R2*.
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