Streamlining trigger delay estimation for T1 mapping

Background T1 mapping in end diastole requires correct identification of the diastolic pause, and an appropriate input of the trigger delay time (TD) into acquisition parameters to ensure parametric mapping during the true diastolic pause for minimal motion-related blurring of myocardium. This diascan can be derived for individual patients from either the 4 chamber or the short axis stack. However, this additional step adds complexity and time to the scan and potentially introduces error. We investigated whether the TD could be estimated from the heart rate (HR) to simplify MOLLI acquisitions.