View article

B₁ mapping is important for many quantitative imaging protocols, particularly those that include whole‐brain T₁ mapping using the variable flip angle (VFA) technique. However, B₁ mapping sequences are not typically available on many magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners. The aim of this work was to demonstrate that B₁ mapping implemented using standard scanner product pulse sequences can produce B₁ (and VFA T₁) maps comparable in quality and acquisition time to advanced techniques.

Six healthy subjects were scanned at 3.0T. An interleaved multislice spin‐echo echo planar imaging double‐angle (EPI‐DA) B₁ mapping protocol, using a standard product pulse sequence, was compared to two alternative methods (actual flip angle imaging, AFI, and Bloch‐Siegert shift, BS). Single‐slice spin‐echo DA B₁ maps were used as a reference for comparison (Ref. DA …