Accelerated High-Resolution 3D Gradient Echo with DL-Based Reconstruction Improves T2* Mapping for Oxygenation-Sensitive MRI

Motivation: Standard low-resolution 2D-GRE acquisition for T2* mapping in mqBOLD MRI may suffer from long scan durations and insufficient quantification accuracy. Goal(s): Improving quantification accuracy by switching from 2D to high-resolution 3D multi-echo GRE while simultaneously reducing scan duration by applying compressed sensing (CS) acceleration with deep-learning-based reconstruction. Approach: T2* maps from low-resolution 2D-GRE and high-resolution 3D-GRE with different acceleration factors were compared in 11 healthy volunteers based on visual inspection and VOI-analyses. Results: 3D-GRE yields high-resolution parameter maps with improved T2* values for GM/WM in less than half the scan duration compared to standard 2D-GRE when using CS acceleration with DL-based reconstruction. Impact: High-resolution 3D-GRE with compressed sensing acceleration and deep-learning-based reconstruction was compared to standard 2D-GRE visually and quantitatively. 3D-GRE enables clinically feasible scan durations with improved and reliable T2* mapping, which may add to the clinical applicability of oxygenation-sensitive mqBOLD MRI.