Model-based Acceleration of Parameter mapping (MAP) for saturation prepared radially acquired data

A reconstruction technique called Model-based Acceleration of Parameter mapping (MAP) is presented allowing for quantification of longitudinal relaxation time and proton density from radial single-shot measurements after saturation recovery magnetization preparation. Using a mono-exponential model in image space, an iterative fitting algorithm is used to reconstruct one well resolved and consistent image for each of the projections acquired during the saturation recovery relaxation process. The functionality of the algorithm is examined in numerical simulations, phantom experiments, and in-vivo studies. MAP reconstructions of single-shot acquisitions feature the same image quality and resolution as fully sampled reference images in phantom and in-vivo studies. The longitudinal relaxation times obtained from the MAP reconstructions are in very good agreement with the reference values in numerical simulations as well as phantom and in-vivo measurements. Compared to available contrast manipulation techniques, no averaging of projections acquired at different time points of the relaxation process is required in MAP imaging. The proposed technique offers new ways of extracting quantitative information from single-shot measurements acquired after magnetization preparation. The reconstruction simultaneously yields images with high spatiotemporal resolution fully consistent with the acquired data as well as maps of the effective longitudinal relaxation parameter and the relative proton density. Magn Reson Med 70:1524–1534, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.