Validation of an ultrahigh contrast divided subtracted inversion recovery technique using a standard T₁ phantom

The divided subtracted inversion recovery (dSIR) is a high T₁ contrast technique that shows changes in white matter in patients with traumatic brain injury and hypoxic injury. The changes can be explained by small differences in T₁; however, to date, there has been no independent validation of the technique using a standard reference. The present study develops the theory of the dSIR signal and performs validation using the NIST/ISMRM T₁ phantom. Non-idealities are explored, including the influence of noise bias and finite repetition time (TR), which leads to the introduction of an optimally efficient TR for inversion recovery acquisitions. Results show excellent agreement with theoretical calculations.