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Simultaneous T1, T2, and T1ρ mapping of the myocardium using cardiac MR fingerprinting with a deep image prior
Sydney Kaplan1,2, Gastao Lima da Cruz2, Chaitanya Madamanchi2,3
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Purpose:
To develop a cardiac MR fingerprinting (cMRF) approach using deep image prior reconstruction (DIP) to simultaneously map T1, T2, and T1ρ, and assess T1ρ in healthy subjects and patients with areas of enhancement on late gadolinium enhancement.
Methods:
A 2D electrocardiogram-triggered cMRF sequence was developed to measure T1, T2, and T1ρ simultaneously. DIP reconstruction was evaluated for noise and artifact reduction compared to a low-rank reconstruction. Measurements were assessed in simulation and phantom for accuracy. T1ρ-cMRF maps were generated in 10 healthy subjects and six patients under evaluation for cardiomyopathy, myocarditis, and amyloidosis receiving gadolinium-based contrast agent-enhanced CMR at 1.5 T.
Results:
T1ρ-cMRF maps showed excellent agreement with ground truth (RMS error = 3.0% ± 5.3%) and conventional methods (R2 = 0.99) in simulations and phantom experiments. Measured values in healthy subjects were consistent with literature (T1 = 1051 ± 63 ms, T2 = 41.4 ± 3.3 ms, and T1ρ = 45.5 ± 2.4 ms). DIP reconstruction reduced noise, indicated by lower coefficient of variation (Δ = 4.7), compared to low-rank reconstruction. Mean differences of 10.2 ms (p = 0.02) in T1ρ and 6.9 ms in T2 maps were observed between areas of enhancement on late gadolinium enhancement and normal-appearing myocardium in patients. Within individual patients, significant differences (p < 0.01) in T1, T2, and T1ρ were observed between American Heart Association segments with and without contrast enhancement.
Conclusion:
The proposed T1ρ-cMRF sequence using DIP reconstruction enables simultaneous quantification of T1, T2, and T1ρ with decreased coefficient of variation compared to low-rank reconstruction. Simulation and phantom studies show good agreement with references. In vivo measurements were made in healthy subjects, and areas of contrast enhancement in patients showed elevated T2 and T1ρ relative to remote myocardium.
