Sebastian Weingrtner1,
2, Mehmet Akakaya1, Warren J. Manning1, Reza
Nezafat1
1Department
of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School,
Boston, MA, United States; 2Computer Assisted Clinical Medicine,
University Medical Center Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
Myocardial T1 mapping is an emerging technique for improved evaluation of scar and fibrosis in the myocardium. Commonly 2D T1 mapping is performed with one breath hold per slice. We propose a novel free-breathing 3D T1 mapping sequence to benefit from the improved SNR and enable better spatial coverage and spatial resolution. The proposed scheme consists of multiple, interleaved inversion-recovery images. A joint prospective and retrospective navigator gating scheme is applied to compensate for respiratory motion. The acquired T1 maps were of improved homogeneity compared to MOLLI and free of motion artifacts induced by improper breath holds.