Ultrashort Echo Time Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (UTE-QSM) of Highly Concentrated Magnetic Nanoparticles: A Comparison Study about Different Sampling Strategies

The ability to accurately and non-invasively quantify highly concentrated magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) is desirable for many emerging applications. Ultrashort echo time quantitative susceptibility mapping (UTE-QSM) has demonstrated the capability to detect high iron concentrations. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of different sampling trajectories on the accuracy of quantification based on MNPs acquired through UTE-QSM. A phantom with six different MNP concentrations was prepared for UTE-QSM study with different UTE sampling trajectories, including radial acquisition, continuous single point imaging (CSPI), and Cones with four different gradient stretching factors of 1.0, 1.2, 1.4, and 1.6. No significant differences were found in QSM values derived from the different UTE sampling strategies, suggesting that the UTE-QSM technique could be accelerated with extended Cones sampling.