Multi-voxel algorithm for quantitative bi-exponential MRI T1 estimation

Publication Type:

Conference Paper

Source:

SPIE Medical Imaging, Volume 9784, San Diego, California, United States of America, p.978402 (2016)

Abstract:

In this work, we propose a joint multi-voxel bi-exponential estimator (JMBE) for quantitative bi-exponential T1 estimation in magnetic resonance imaging, to account for partial volume effects and to yield more accurate results compared to single-voxel bi-exponential estimators (SBEs). Using a numerical brain phantom with voxels containing two tissues, the minimal signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) needed to estimate both T1 values with sufficient accuracy was investigated. Compared to the SBE, and for clinically achievable single-voxel SNRs, the JMBE yields accurate T1 estimates if four or more neighboring voxels are used in the joint estimation framework, in which case it is also efficient.