E. Brian Welch1, Mark D. Does2, Robin Avison2, J. Christopher Gatenby2, Malcolm J. Avison2, Bruce M. Damon2, John C. Gore2
1MR Clinical Science, Philips Healthcare, Cleveland, OH, USA; 2Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
Rigorous T2 mapping of human calf muscle at high field (3T) using a multi-slice, multi-echo turbo spin echo sequence is possible, but attention must be paid to refocusing slice properties (profile shape and thickness) and to the crushing scheme employed to eliminate stimulated echoes. At high static field, B0 and B1 inhomogeneities also strongly affect T2 estimates, but such effects can be corrected. After these steps, image-based T2 maps should agree with results obtained from other non-image-based T2 measurements such as single voxel selective spectroscopy. This work demonstrates these effects and corrections on phantoms and in vivo.