Nonlinear Inverse Reconstruction for T2 Mapping from Highly Undersampled Cartesian Spin-Echo MRI

Tilman Johannes Sumpf¹, Martin Uecker¹, Susann Boretius¹, Jens Frahm¹

Quantitative evaluations of the T2 relaxation time are of high importance for diagnostic MRI. Standard T2 mapping procedures rely on the time-demanding acquisition of fully sampled k-space datasets at multiple echo times. Recently, a nonlinear inverse reconstruction method has been proposed which allows for reconstructions of spin-density and T2 maps from highly undersampled radial data. Here, we extended this concept for Cartesian acquisition schemes and even for settings without parallel imaging. An automatic scaling procedure as well as a dedicated undersampling pattern minimize residual artifacts. The approach is validated for T2 mapping of a numerical phantom and the human brain.