Media type: E-Article Title: T2 measurement of the human myocardium using a T2‐prepared transient‐state trueFISP sequence Contributor: Huang, Teng‐Yi; Liu, Yi‐Jui; Stemmer, Alto; Poncelet, Brigitte P. Published: Wiley, 2007 Published in: Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 57 (2007) 5, Seite 960-966 Language: English DOI: 10.1002/mrm.21208 ISSN: 0740-3194; 1522-2594 Origination: Footnote: Description: AbstractA fast and motion‐insensitive technique suitable for myocardial BOLD contrast imaging is presented. The method, termed T2‐TrueFISP, combines T2 magnetization preparation with steady‐state free precession (SSFP) imaging for T2 relaxation mapping of the myocardium in healthy volunteers. The T2 contrast‐to‐noise ratio (CNR) was optimized with the use of transient‐state TrueFISP readout and half‐Fourier readout with linear phase encoding. Single‐slice myocardial T2‐weighted image was obtained within one heartbeat, and a single slice T2 map of the myocardium was obtained in under 5–7 s. A respiratory navigator‐gating method was incorporated for serial measurements and signal averaging, with the subjects breathing freely. The mean myocardial T2 relaxation time measured in 12 healthy volunteers was 54 ± 5.7 ms. Regional variations of T2 values across the myocardium were 7%. Temporal variations across serial T2 measurements in a transmural region covering ∼0.5 cc of the left ventricular (LV) wall were 3.6% without signal averaging (number of excitations (NEX) = 1) and 1.7% with signal averaging (NEX = 10). According to our preliminary results, the T2‐TrueFISP method is expected to provide a robust and sensitive tool for clinical application of myocardial BOLD contrast imaging. Magn Reson Med 57:960–966, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.