Fast Spin Echo Imaging-Based Electric Property Tomography With K-Space Weighting via Relaxation (rEPT)

Magnetic resonance electrical property tomography (MREPT) is a technique used to extract the electrical properties of tissues (conductivity in particular) using a magnetic resonance imaging system. In this paper, we propose an improved data acquisition scheme for the electrical property tomography technique by utilizing T 2 modulation in fast spin echo (FSE) imaging. This technique was motivated by a numerical analysis of conductivity reconstruction in the frequency domain; results reveal the spatial frequency-dependent noise texture of conventional methods. A data-acquisition scheme using the FSE sequence was formulated to concentrate the signal within a specific frequency range where notable noise amplification is observed in the conventional method. Through numerical studies, the performance of the proposed acquisition was investigated. Furthermore, a compensation scheme was applied to reduce quantification errors due to tissue-specific T 2 modulation, which is inherent in FSE imaging. The technique was applied to phantom and in vivo experiments. Results showed improved conductivity contrasts in both experiments, as compared with conventional MREPT methods.