Carl Siversson1, Carina Dahlberg2,
Carl Johan Tiderius3, Tallal Charles Mamisch4, Jonas
Svensson1, Young jo Kim5
1Department of Radiation
Physics, Lund University, Malm, Sweden; 2Lund Bioimaging center,
Lund University, Lund, Sweden; 3Department of Orthopaedics, Lund
University, Malm, Sweden; 4Department of Orthopaedics, University
of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; 5Department of Orthopaedics,
Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA, United States
3D Variable Flip Angle (3D-VFA) is a method for fast 3D T1 quantifications using two successive gradient echo sequences with different excitation pulse flip angles. The 3D-VFA method is sensitive to transmit field B1 variations, which are commonly occurring in vivo. Recently a technique for correcting for such B1 variations, using an additional spin echo type sequence, was introduced. In this work 3D-VFA with and without B1 correction is evaluated using phantoms, in an environment with known B1 variation. It is concluded that the 3D-VFA method with B1 correction generates reliable T1 values even in areas with severe B1 deviation.