Accurate T1 and spin density NMR images.
We present a method for producing accurate calculated T1 and spin density nuclear magnetic resonance images. A modified Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill pulse sequence is used to obtain a series of images containing both T1 and T2 dependence. The image series is first analyzed to remove the T2 dependence. The resulting images are then analyzed, pixel by pixel, to generate an image containing T1 values and an image containing values proportional to spin density (SD). Tests performed on two phantoms containing solutions of various known T1's and H2O/D2O concentrations indicate that the T1 image values are accurate to better than 11% and the relative SD values agree to within one standard deviation.