Bram F. Coolen1,
Dennis F.R. Heijtel1, Wouter V. Potters1, Aart J.
Nederveen1
1Department
of Radiology, Academic Medical Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
A novel method for 3D carotid artery T1 quantification is presented, based on combining 3D Merge black-blood imaging with a variable flip angle T1 analysis. The application of a dummy pulse train following read-out ensures steady-state conditions for the acquired data, which is needed for correct T1 estimation. Simulations, phantom and in vivo measurements were performed to assess the feasibility of the proposed method.