Dian Liu1, Andreas Steingoetter1,2, Jelena Curcic1,2, and Sebastian Kozerke1
1Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, 2Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Dual and triple echo steady state (DESS
and TESS) schemes have enabled rapid measurements of transverse relaxation
times (T2). However, it has
been shown that TESS may result in errorneous T2 values when applied
to articular cartilage. Since cartilage is a multi-compartment tissue, chemical
shift-related signal fluctuations in the TESS echo modes need to be considered.
The purpose of this work was to investigate the accuracy of T2
quantification of multi-compartmental tissue using DESS and TESS based on
computer simulations, in vitro and in vivo measurements. Results show that multi-compartment effects can significantly limit the
accuracy of T2 quantification and hence require careful attention.
