High-resolution free-breathing simultaneous myocardial T1, T2 and T1ρ mapping with region-optimized virtual coils (ROVir)

Motivation: Cardiac parametric mapping with electrocardiogram-triggered single-shot acquisition has compromised spatial resolution due to limited quiescent period for data acquisition. Goal(s): To develop a high-resolution simultaneous myocardial T1, T2 and T1ρ mapping technique. Approach: Enhance the spatial resolution while reducing the FOV to make the acquisition window fit in the mid-diastolic quiescent period in the cardiac cycle. Subsequently, employ the ROVir technique to eliminate fold-over artifacts arising from FOV reduction. Results: The proposed technique achieved high-resolution multi-parametric mapping without a loss of quantitative precision. Impact: A novel framework was proposed to shorten the acquisition window and improve the spatial resolution of electrocardiogram-triggered cardiac parametric mapping beyond common k-space undersamping. High-resolution myocardial parametric mapping can provide more precise and reliable diagnostic information.