T1rho Dispersion profile of rat tissues in vitro at very low locking fields.

The purpose of this study was to show the T(1rho) dispersion profile in various rat tissues (liver, brain, spleen, kidney, heart and skeletal muscle) at low (0.1 T) B(0) field at very low locking field B1, starting from 10 microT. The T(1rho) dispersion profile showed a quite similar pattern in all tissues. The highest R(1rho) relaxation rates were seen in the liver and muscle followed by the heart, whereas the values for spleen, kidney and brain were rather similar. The greatest difference between R2 relaxation rate and R(1rho) relaxation rate at B1=10 microT was seen in the liver and muscle. The steepest slope for a dispersion curve was seen in the muscle. The value of T(1rho) approximately approached the value of T2 when the locking field B1 approached 0. Except for the liver, the calculated apparent relaxation rate R2' was slightly larger than the calculated one. The potential value of T(1rho) imaging is to combine high R1 contrast of low-field imaging with the high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of high static field imaging. T(1rho) relaxation and dispersion data presented in the current study help to optimize the rotating-frame MR imaging.