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Updated: May 30, 2026
Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Skeletal Muscle Disease
Published on: December 18, 2016
Motion-sensitized driven equilibrium for blood-suppressed T2* mapping
Rexford D Newbould1, David R J Owen, Joseph Shalhoub
1GSK Clinical Imaging Centre, Hammersmith Hospital, London, United Kingdom. rexford.newbould@gmail.com
Purpose:
To combine a motion-sensitized driven equilibrium (MSDE) preparation with a multi-echo spoiled gradient-echo sequence (SPGR) to suppress the blood signal intensity in T2* mapping of carotid plaques and liver.
Materials And Methods:
The analytical solution of the Bloch equations for the multi-echo SPGR sequence, with and without the MSDE preparation, was calculated to optimize sequence parameters. The sequence was implemented at 3 Tesla and T2* maps of carotid plaques and liver were first optimized for blood suppression, and then acquired from five healthy livers and six subjects with ultrasound-identified carotid plaques.
Results:
Simulations and experimental data showed that the flip angle that gives maximal signal (Ernst angle) in the MSDE-SPGR was greatly increased from that of pure SPGR. Robust blood suppression was obtained in the T2* maps of carotid plaques and liver, requiring suppression at a field of speed (FOS) of 30 cm/s in both the carotids and liver.
Conclusion:
MSDE provides a means to suppress the blood signal intensity in SPGR sequences. Tissue T2* maps can be obtained without the confounding effects originating from blood vessels.
