Toward Improved T1-Weighted Breast Imaging at 7T: Preliminary Results and Comparison with 3T

Ryan Brown¹, Pippa Storey¹, Kelly Anne McGorty¹, Jose Raya¹, Daniel K. Sodickson¹, Graham C. Wiggins¹, Linda Moy¹

7T breast imaging promises substantial SNR gains over 3T, although significant image quality hurdles must be overcome to approach that required for diagnosis. 7T breast imaging has been hindered by uncharted sequence parameters and inconsistent fat suppression. We focused on customizing the essential clinical sequence, T1-weighted 3D FLASH with and without SPAIR fat suppression for high image quality and fibroglandular-fat contrast. This preliminary study demonstrated high resolution (0.2mm³) breast MRI at 7T with reliable SPAIR fat suppression throughout the entire breast volume despite B0 and B1+ inhomogeneity encountered at high field.