Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting for Simultaneous T1 and T2 Mapping at 0.55T

Motivation: Cardiac MRF (cMRF) allows for comprehensive myocardial tissue characterization in a single scan and has been investigated at 1.5T/3T. However, cMRF has not been demonstrated at low-field. Goal(s): Investigate the feasibility of a bSSFP-cMRF sequence for simultaneous T1 and T2 mapping at 0.55T. Approach: The proposed approach considers bSSFP radial readouts with varying IR and T2-preparation pulses over 16 heartbeats. bSSFP-cMRF was evaluated in phantoms and healthy subjects in comparison to reference maps. Results: bSSFP-cMRF at 0.55T shows excellent agreement with reference values in phantom and good image quality in healthy subjects with T1 and T2 values agreeing with the literature. Impact: The simultaneous quantification of T1 and T2 at 0.55T in a single cardiac-MRF scan of 16s could provide an alternative to higher field scanners, allowing for a more accessible way to assess cardiovascular disease.