Fast Spin Echo Imaging-Based Electric Property Tomography With K-Space Weighting via ${T}_{2}$ 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 T2 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 T2 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.