An improved 3-D Look-Locker imaging method for T1 parameter estimation

In this work, a more generalized form of the 3-D LL imaging method that incorporates an additional and variable delay time between recovery samples is described, which permits the use of larger tip angles (>5°), thereby improving the SNR and the accuracy of the method. In phantom studies, a mean T1 measurement accuracy of less than 2% (0.2-3.1%) using a tip angle of 10° was obtained for a range of T1 from approximately 300 to 1700 ms with a measurement time increase of only 15%. This accuracy compares favorably with the conventional 3-D LL method that provided an accuracy between 2.2% and 7.3% using a 5° flip angle.