On the accuracy of T₁ mapping: Searching for common ground

Abstract

We conclude that the three most common T1 mapping protocols produce stable T1 values in phantoms, but not in vivo. To improve the accuracy of T1 mapping, we recommend that sites perform in vivo validation of their T1 mapping method against the inversion recovery reference method, as the first step toward developing a robust calibration scheme.

A subject-specific framework for in vivo myeloarchitectonic analysis using high resolution quantitative MRI

“…Fast quantitative MRI techniques are often a compromise between SNR efficiency and accuracy. Most fast T 1 mapping techniques are not perfectly quantitative (Stikov et al, 2015), biased by imperfect B 1 inhomogeneity compensation, imperfect spoiling of residual transverse magnetization, or approximations in the relaxation model. This means that T 1 maps are not perfectly consistent across scanning sessions, subjects, and T 1 mapping methods.…”

“…This means that T 1 maps are not perfectly consistent across scanning sessions, subjects, and T 1 mapping methods. Stikov et al (2015) propose to calibrate fast T 1 mapping methods to a gold standard inversion recovery relaxometry experiment to facilitate comparisons across different acquisition protocols and to an atlas. A B + 1 field map can also be acquired to reduce the B 1 bias in T 1 maps Marques and Gruetter, 2013), which could lead to smoothly varying spatial biases in the surface boundaries.…”

The neurobiology of transition to psychosis

“…Quantitative MRI methods, such as T 1 -based inversion recovery, 96 are highly correlated with spatial 97 and age-related variations 98 in myelin content, can quantify both intracortical and white matter myelin, 99 and appear to be sensitive to even subtle dysmyelination. 100,101 Furthermore, T 1 -based methods are cross-validated with histological myelin staining 102 and postmortem myeloarchitecture 103 and show robust longitudinal reproducibility.…”

Effects of magnetization transfer on T 1 contrast in human brain white matter

“…One of the outstanding issues with quantification of the T 1 time constant is the limited reproducibility of the various methods and the variation in T 1 estimates reported in literature (see e.g. (Labadie, Lee et al 2014, Stikov, Boudreau et al 2015)). While incompletely understood, this variability can be partly attributed to imperfect WP inversion, and a potential bi-exponential character of the relaxation that is not properly accounted for during analysis (Kingsley, Ogg et al 1998, Barral, Gudmundson et al 2010, Labadie, Lee et al 2014, Stikov, Boudreau et al 2015).…”