Relaxation time estimation in MRI

In this work, a novel estimator of proton density and relaxation times in Magnetic Resonance Imaging is presented. The evaluation of the signal model together with the statistical distribution of the noise have allowed the development of the Minimum Variance Unbiased (MVU) Estimator which, in case of complex decomposition of MRI data, corresponds to a Least Square (LS) one. With respect to amplitude base Maximum Likelihood Estimator, the proposed approach shows many advantages, including an higher accuracy due to the complex model and lower computational time due to the simple function. Results of real data are reported, showing the effectiveness of the method.