Criteria for analysis of multicomponent tissue T-2 relaxation data

Monte Carte simulations were performed to determine whether the multicomponent T-2 distribution of tissue can be estimated accurately from T-2 decay data acquired in vivo, Simulated data were generated for white matter, fast twitch muscle, and breast tissue. The signal-to-noise ratio, number of data samples, and minimum echo time were varied from the experimental conditions currently achievable with MRI to those achievable for in vitro experiments. Data were fitted by a distribution of T-2 values using the T2NNLS algorithm, and statistics characterizing the estimated T-2 components were determined, Current MRI techniques were found to provide conditions insufficient for accurate multicomponent T-2 analysis on a pixel-by-pixel basis, However, volume localization methods that measure T-2 decay from a large volume of interest have potential for this analysis, These results illustrate a general framework for development of new techniques to measure T-2 decay accurately in vivo.