T2 Quantification of Agarose with Contrast Agent in Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Abstract

Spin-spin relaxation time or T2 is an important parameter in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) which provides information on molecular structure inside tissues, properties of human tissues and metabolites inside human body. It also contributes to clinical study by providing more information on pathological properties and delineation between healthy and malignant tissues in brain pathologies and identification of tissue abnormalities. In this study, T2 measurement was performed by acquiring T2 images of agarose hydrogel. T2-weighted imaging sequence was used with variation of agarose concentration, echo-time and repetition time. The signal intensities of samples were acquired and fitted to echo-time to obtain T2-value. In addition, contrast agent of CuSO4 was mixed with agarose solution and the similar T2 measurement was performed with variation concentration of agarose and CuSO4. Although some limitations were found during T2 measurement due to acquisition and instrumental setting, T2 quantification could provide more information about properties inside samples. The quantification could also be used for measurement of the effectiveness of contrast agent for increasing image contrast in MRI scanning.