Optimised Acquisition of Magnetic Field Correlation Mapping for Improved Precision

Catherine Anusha Mallik¹, Gareth J. Barker¹, David J. Lythgoe¹

Magnetic field correlation (MFC) is a temporal correlation function sensitive to iron levels. MFC is measured by collecting asymmetric spin echo data, at multiple (typically five or more) echo shifts. Here we use simulations to show that precision of MFC estimates can be improved by acquiring data at only two time-shifts and using the time saved to increase the number of signal averages (maintaining overall scan time). We show how the averages should be distributed between the two shifts and, with the final optimised protocol, collect in vivo data to show the improvement over a standard, five point, scheme.