Abstract #1103

Comparison of Myelin Water Fraction Brain Images Using Multi-Echo T2-Weighted GRASE Relaxation and Steady-State Methods

Jing Zhang¹, Shannon H. Kolind², Alex L. MacKay¹,³

¹Department of Radiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; ²Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; ³Department of Physics and Astonomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

While both spin echo and mcDESPOT techniques have been applied for detection of demyelination in MS lesions and NAWM, the two approaches have not yet been compared on the same subjects. In this work, both GRASE and mcDESPOT methods were performed together on the same scanner for ten healthy subjects. Myelin water fraction maps created by the two methods for the same volunteer are very different. Further investigation is needed to understand the mechanisms leading to the differences between results from these two methods.