Quantitative assessment of tongue tissue structure with 3D partially spoiled gradient echo

Motivation: Fat fraction and water T2 have been identified as biomarkers of muscle tissue alterations in neuromuscular diseases. Tongue muscles are involved in several muscular disorder, but due to swallowing motion, quantitative MRI is almost never applied at this level. Goal(s): Assess the feasibility of a water T2 mapping in the tongue. Approach: In this feasibility study, we proposed an RF phase-modulated gradient-echo acquisition with 3D radial encoding to obtain FF and water T2 maps of the tongue. Results: The proposed method enables 3D mapping. The values found in the tongue are consistent with those found with the same methods in the leg muscles. Impact: Performing quantitative imaging in the tongue is challenging due to swallowing motion. Applying a 3D radial sequence appears the appropriate strategy for water T2 imaging.