T1-weighted images of the infant brains (≤ 1-year-old) have the inherently low and rapidly-changing contrasts. Previous optimization methods focused on the neonatal brains (≤ 1-month-old), yet the image contrasts in the rest of the infancy are more dynamic and challenging. Here we measured T1, T2 and proton density maps in 58 infant brains at 3T, and performed simulations to maximize the relative white/gray matter contrast using a centrically encoded 3D-MPRAGE sequence. We proposed differential optimization strategies for 0-3 month-old, 4-6 month-old and 7-12 month-old infants. Results demonstrated improved relative contrasts, even in 4-6 month-old infants who had nearly isointense images.
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