Multi-echo MR thermometry in the upper leg at 7 T using near-harmonic 2D reconstruction for initialization.

Purpose: The aim of this work is the development of a thermometry method to measure temperature increases in vivo, with a precision and accuracy sufficient for validation against thermal simulations. Such an MR thermometry model would be a valuable tool to get an indication on one of the major safety concerns in MR imaging: the tissue heating occurring due to radiofrequency (RF) exposure. To prevent excessive temperature rise, RF power deposition, expressed as specific absorption rate, cannot exceed predefined thresholds.