Abstract
Quantitative sodium MRI requires accurate knowledge of factors affecting the sodium signal. One important determinant of sodium signal level is the transmit B1 field strength. However, the low signal-to-noise ratio typical of sodium MRI makes accurate B1 mapping in reasonable scan times challenging. A new phase-sensitive B1 mapping technique has recently been shown to work better than the widely used dual-angle method in low-signal-to-noise ratio situations and over a broader range of flip angles. In this work, the phase-sensitive B1 mapping technique is applied to sodium, and its performance compared to the dual-angle method through both simulation and phantom studies. The phase-sensitive method is shown to yield higher quality B1 maps at low signal-to-noise ratio and greater consistency of measurement than the dual-angle method. An in vivo sodium B 1 map of the human breast is also shown, demonstrating the phase-sensitive method's feasibility for human studies.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1126-1131 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Magnetic Resonance in Medicine |
Volume | 65 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 2011 |
Keywords
- sodium MRI