Quantification of the Rotating Frame Relaxation Time T2ρ: Comparison of Balanced Spin-Lock and Continuous-Wave Malcolm-Levitt Preparations

For the quantification of rotating frame relaxation times, the T2ρ relaxation pathway plays an essential role. Nevertheless, T2ρ imaging has been studied only to a small extent compared with T1ρ, and preparation techniques for T2ρ have so far been adapted from T1ρ methods. In this work, two different preparation concepts are compared specifically for the use of T2ρ mapping. The first approach involves transferring the balanced spin‐locking (B‐SL) concept of T1ρ imaging. The second and newly proposed approach is a continuous‐wave Malcolm‐Levitt (CW‐MLEV) pulse train with zero echo times and was motivated from T2 preparation strategies. The modules are tested in Bloch simulations for their intrinsic sensitivity to field inhomogeneities and validated in phantom experiments. In addition, myocardial T2ρ mapping was performed in mice as an exemplary application. Our results demonstrate that the CW‐MLEV approach provides superior robustness and thus suggest that established methods of T1ρ imaging are not best suited for T2ρ experiments. In the presence of field inhomogeneities, the simulations indicated an increased banding compensation by a factor of 4.1 compared with B‐SL. Quantification of left ventricular T2ρ time in mice yielded more consistent results, and values in the range of 59.2–61.1 ms (R2 = 0.986–0.992) were observed at 7 T.