Full-brain T1 mapping through inversion recovery fast spin echo imaging with time-efficient slice ordering

Brain T-1 mapping has important clinical applications in detecting brain disorders. Conventional T-1 mapping techniques are usually based on inversion recovery spin echo (IRSE) imaging or its more time-efficient counterpart inversion recovery fast spin echo (IRFSE) imaging because they can deliver good image quality. Multiple inversion times are required to accurately estimate T-1 over a wide range of values. Without acquisition optimization, both the IRSE and the IRFSE T-1 mapping techniques require long scan times to image the whole brain. To reduce the scan time and maintain the quality of the T-1 maps, we propose a new full-brain T-1 mapping pulse sequence based on a multi-slice inversion recovery fast spin echo imaging using a time-efficient slice ordering technique.