MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING METHOD FOR THE QUANTIFICATION OF THE T1 AND/OR T2 RELAXATION TIMES IN A SAMPLE

摘要

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) method for the quantification of the longitudinal (T₁) and/or transverse (T₂) relaxation times in a sample is provided. According to this MRI method a sample is subjected to an unbalanced steady state free precession (SSFP) sequence comprising a series of consecutive radiofrequency (RF) pulses. By means of this unbalanced SSFP sequence, the first order SSFP FID signal (F₁), the lowest order SSFP FID signal (F₀), and the lowest order SSFP Echo signal (F₋₁) are acquired. Based on the F₀-signal, the F₁-signal and the F₋₁-signal the longitudinal (T₁) and/or transverse (T₂) relaxation times of the sample are determined.