T1 relaxation time at 0.2 Tesla for monitoring regional hyperthermia: feasibility study in muscle and adipose tissue.

The purpose of this study was to characterize T(1), particularly in the hyperthermia temperature range (ca. 37-44 degrees C), in order to control regional hyperthermia with MR monitoring using 0.2 Tesla, and to improve T(1) mapping. A single-slice and a new multislice "T One by Multiple Read-Out Pulses" (TOMROP) pulse sequence were used for fast T(1) mapping in a clinical MRI hyperthermia hybrid system. Temporal stability, temperature sensitivity, and reversibility of T(1) were investigated in a polyamidacryl gel phantom and in samples of muscle and adipose tissues from turkey and pig, and verified in patients. In the gel phantom a high linear correlation between T(1) and temperature (R(2) = 0.97) was observed. In muscle and adipose tissue, T(1) and temperature had a linear relationship below a breakpoint of 43 degrees C. Above this breakpoint muscle tissue showed irreversible tissue changes; these effects were not visible in adipose tissue. The ex vivo results were confirmed in vivo under clinical conditions. T(1) mapping allows the characterization of hyperthermia-related tissue response in healthy tissue. T(1), in combination with fast mapping, is suitable for controlling regional hyperthermia at 0.2 T within the hybrid system. Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.