Self-navigated three-dimensional cardiac T2 mapping at 3T

Background Cardiac T2 mapping using a variable T2 preparation module (T2Prep) has recently gained attention for its ability to quantify the extent of edema (Giri, JCMR 2009). Due to time constraints, the T2 maps are commonly acquired as one or several two-dimensional slices, while the underlying pathology has a three-dimensional (3D) structure. The next logical step would therefore be to exploit recent hardware and software advances to directly acquire 3D T2 maps. To this end, we tested the feasibility of using a self-navigated 3D radial acquisition with a variable T2Prep for 3D T2 mapping at 3T.