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Abstract #3031

Age-specific Optimization Strategies of T1-weighted Image Contrasts in Infant Brain

Hongxi Zhang1, Ruibin Liu2, Tingting Liu2, Yi Zhang2, and Dan Wu2

1Radiology, Children’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China, 2Biomedical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

T1-weighted images of the infant brains (≤ 1-year-old) have the inherently low and rapidly-changing contrasts. Previous optimization methods focused on the neonatal brains (≤ 1-month-old), yet the image contrasts in the rest of the infancy are more dynamic and challenging. Here we measured T1, T2 and proton density maps in 58 infant brains at 3T, and performed simulations to maximize the relative white/gray matter contrast using a centrically encoded 3D-MPRAGE sequence. We proposed differential optimization strategies for 0-3 month-old, 4-6 month-old and 7-12 month-old infants. Results demonstrated improved relative contrasts, even in 4-6 month-old infants who had nearly isointense images.

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