Clinically Constrained Optimization of flexTPI Acquisition Parameters for the Tissue Sodium Concentration Bioscale

The rapid transverse relaxation of the sodium magnetic resonance signal during spatial encoding causes a loss of image resolution, an effect known as T-2-blurring. Conventional wisdom suggests that spatial resolution is maximized by keeping the readout duration as short as possible to minimize T-2-blurring. Flexible twisted projection imaging performed with an ultrashort echo time, relative to T-2, and a long repetition time, relative to T-1, has been shown to be effective for quantitative sodium magnetic resonance imaging. A minimized readout duration requires a very large number of projections and, consequentially, results in an impractically long total acquisition time to meet these conditions. When the total acquisition time is limited to a clinically practical duration (e.g., 10 min), the optimal parameters for maximal spatial resolution of a flexible twisted projection imaging acquisition do not correspond to the shortest possible readout. Simulation and experimental results for resolution optimized acquisition parameters of quantitative sodium flexible twisted projection imaging of parenchyma and cerebrospinal fluid are presented for the human brain at 9.4 and 3.0T. The effect of signal loss during data collection on sodium quantification bias and image signal-to-noise ratio are discussed. Magn Reson Med 66: 1089-1099, 2011. (C) 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.