Free-running Cardiac MRF for Simultaneous T1, T2 Mapping and Cine Imaging at 0.55 T

Motivation: Cardiac cine MRF is a powerful quantitative imaging technique that enables comprehensive tissue characterization and left ventricular functional assessment in a single-scan. However, it has not been demonstrated at 0.55T. Goal(s): To investigate the feasibility of a bSSFP free-running cardiac-MRF sequence at 0.55T for simultaneous T1/T2 and cine-imaging in a single breath-hold-scan of ~13s. Approach: The sequence, implemented in Pulseq, uses continuous tiny-golden-angle radial bSSFP readouts with IR-T2-prep modules. Phantom results were compared against IR-SE references and in-vivo results against previously reported literature values. Results: T1/T2-maps show good agreement with phantom reference and in-vivo results show good image quality for T1/T2-maps and cine-images. Impact: A simultaneous acquisition of T1 and T2 maps, along with cine imaging at 0.55T in a single ~13s scan could provide a more affordable and accessible approach to assess cardiovascular disease.