TY  - JOUR
PB  - IEEE
AV  - public
SP  - 2414
IS  - 11
EP  - 2427
N2  - In quantitative magnetic resonance T1 mapping, the variable flip angle (VFA) steady state spoiled gradient recalled echo (SPGR) imaging technique is popular as it provides a series of high resolution T1 weighted images in a clinically feasible time. Fast, linear methods that estimate T1 maps from these weighted images have been proposed, such as DESPOT1 and iterative re-weighted linear least squares. More accurate, non-linear least squares (NLLS) estimators are in play, but these are generally much slower and require careful initialization. In this paper, we present NOVIFAST, a novel NLLS-based algorithm specifically tailored to VFA SPGR T1 mapping. By exploiting the particular structure of the SPGR model, a computationally efficient, yet accurate and precise T1 map estimator is derived. Simulation and in vivo human brain experiments demonstrate a twenty-fold speed gain of NOVIFAST compared with conventional gradient-based NLLS estimators while maintaining a high precision and accuracy. Moreover, NOVIFAST is eight times faster than the efficient implementations of the variable projection (VARPRO) method. Furthermore, NOVIFAST is shown to be robust against initialization.
VL  - 37
Y1  - 2018/11//
TI  - NOVIFAST: A Fast Algorithm for Accurate and Precise VFA MRI T1 Mapping
SN  - 0278-0062
UR  - https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8371285
ID  - upm55074
A1  - Ramos Llordén, Gabriel
A1  - Vegas Sánchez-Ferrero, Gonzalo
A1  - Björk, Marcus
A1  - Vanhevel, Floris
A1  - Parizel, Paul M.
A1  - San José Estépar, Raúl
A1  - Dekker, Arnold J. den
A1  - Sijbers, Jan
KW  - T1 mapping; variable flip angle; SPGR; DESPOT1; relaxometry
JF  - IEEE transactions on medical imaging
ER  -