The suggested possibility of the T2rho contrast in the modified Look-Locker MRI technique used for the T1 quantification

The modified Look-Locker imaging (MOLLI) technique is widely used in cardiac imaging for T1 mapping. When the MOLLI technique is performed, the B1 field, perpendicular to the magnetization, is continually applied during the steady state imaging. Hence, the relaxation of the magnetization during this time may be linked to the T2rho (the T2 relaxation time constant in the rotating frame) contrast, sensitive to the iron content. Here, the theoretical background and a preliminary phantom imaging results are presented to explore the possibility of extracting T2rho contrast from the MOLLI sequence.