Influence of RF spoiling on the stability and accuracy of T1 mapping based on spoiled FLASH with varying flip angles

There is increasing interest in quantitative T₁ mapping techniques for a variety of applications. Several methods for T₁ quantification have been described. The acquisition of two spoiled gradient‐echo data sets with different flip angles allows for the calculation of T₁ maps with a high spatial resolution and a relatively short experimental duration. However, the method requires complete spoiling of transverse magnetization. To achieve this goal, RF spoiling has to be applied. In this work it is investigated whether common RF spoiling techniques are sufficiently effective to allow for accurate T₁ quantification. It is shown that for most phase increments the apparent T₁ can deviate considerably from the true value. Correct results may be achieved with phase increments of 118.2° or 121.8°. However, for these values the method suffers from instabilities. In contrast, stable results are obtained with a phase increment of 50°. An algorithm is presented that allows for the calculation of corrected T₁ maps from the apparent values. The method is tested both in phantom experiments and in vivo by acquiring whole‐brain T₁ maps of the human brain. Magn Reson Med 61:125–135, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.