Simultaneous 3D T1, T2, and fat-fraction mapping with respiratory-motion correction, for comprehensive liver tissue characterisation at 0.55T

Motivation: Mulitparametric quantitative MRI is a powerful tool for diagnosis of liver disease, but current clinical sequences will acquire 2D slices in separate scans, prone to misregistration. Goal(s): Demonstrate the simultaneous in-vivo acquisition of T1, T2, and fat fraction maps over the whole liver from a single free-breathing scan at 0.55T. Approach: A dictionary-matching-based framework with non-rigid respiratory motion corrected reconstruction was validated in a cohort of ten healthy subjects. Results: T1, T2, and fat fraction values acquired in phantoms and in vivo showed good agreement with values from corresponding reference scans. Impact: Our technique promises an efficient means to acquire multiple parameter maps providing comprehensive staging and diagnosis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, believed to affect over two billion people worldwide.