T 2 $$ {\boldsymbol{T}}_{\mathbf{2}} $$ -Weighted Imaging of Water, Fat and Silicone

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a sensitive method for assessing silicone implant integrity, with $T_2$ -weighted imaging being essential for detecting abnormalities in surrounding tissue. Silicone breast imaging protocols often require multiple tailored sequences for species suppression and diagnostic contrast. We propose a single sequence suitable for patients with or without implants that enables $T_2$ -weighted, high-quality imaging and three-species separation within a clinically feasible scan time.

Our approach uses a 2D fast spin echo (FSE) sequence with seven bipolar multi-echo gradient echo readouts, enabling field mapping and water-fat-silicone separation. Incoherent $k_y$ - $TE$ undersampling combined with joint multi-echo reconstruction leverages temporal correlations and applies compressed sensing regularization directly to the separated species.

We achieve high-resolution, artifact-free water, fat, and silicone (WFS) images across three planes from one sequence, regardless of shim quality, and for different breast implant types. Compared to independent echo reconstruction and separation, joint multi-echo reconstruction with incoherent $k_y$ - $TE$ sampling allows acceleration of $R=6$ , reducing scan time to 2.5 minutes.

We demonstrate a robust $T_2$ -weighted technique that provides reliable water-fat-silicone imaging in 2.5 minutes, enabling uniform breast protocols for patients with and without silicone implants.