COMPARISON OF CONVENTIONAL SINGLE ECHO AND MULTI-ECHO SEQUENCES WITH A FAST SPIN-ECHO SEQUENCE FOR QUANTITATIVE T2 MAPPING - APPLICATION TOTHE PROSTATE

The accuracy of water T2 maps generated from a fast spin-echo (FSE) se quence was compared with data obtained by conventional single and mult i-echo spin-echo pulse sequences using a commercial gel phantom, Spati ally localized stimulated echo acquisition mode (STEAM) proton spectro scopy was also used to confirm the reported water T2 values of the gel s contained in the phantom, The FSE sequence was shown to be superior in accuracy to both the single and multi-echo spin echo sequences and comparable to STEAM, producing results that were within 10% of known v alues. The effectiveness of the FSE sequence was further demonstrated by generating T2 maps of the normal and diseased prostate in clinicall y acceptable imaging times, resulting in comparable T2 values to those obtained using STEAM. Accurate quantitative T2 maps can be produced w ith the FSE sequence.