Abstract
Ultrashort TE (UTE) sequences have the capability to image tissues with very short T2s that typically appear as low signal in clinical sequences. UTE sequences can also be used in multi-echo acquisitions which allow assessment of the T2s of these tissues. Here we study the accuracy of such T2 measurements when combined with fat saturation (FS).
Highlights
The T2 relaxation properties of MRI signals play an important role in the assessment of pathology [1,2] (R3.4)
A pronounced signal drop can be observed in short T2 tissues such as the meniscus, while the signal intensities for longer T2 tissues such as muscle do not change much over the range of TE values
We have shown that Fat Saturation can have notable effect on the measured single component T2 values of multi-component tissues
Summary
The T2 relaxation properties of MRI signals play an important role in the assessment of pathology [1,2] (R3.4). Many musculoskeletal (MSK) tissues (e.g. cortical bone, tendon, and ligaments, etc.) have very short transverse relaxation times. This short relaxation time requires specialized pulse sequences such as ultrashort echo time (UTE) for optimal signal acquisition and quantification [3,4]. The broad spectral distributions associated with very short T2 tissues can cause significant overlap with the FS pulse (Fig. 1A, red). This overlap may result in measureable reduction in the short T2 signals [7]. We analyzed the effects that FS pulses of various bandwidths (BW) have on the values of T2 quantification
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