FAST THREE DIMENSIONAL T2 WEIGHTED BALANCED STEADY-STATE FREE PRECESSION IMAGING

摘要

A fast 3D T2-weighted imaging system and method is disclosed that uses balanced steady state free precession (bSSFP), variable flip angles, and an interleaved multi-shot spiral-out phase encode ordering strategy to acquire high resolution T2-weighted images quickly while maintaining spatial resolution.

主权项

1. An apparatus for performing fast three dimensional (3D) T2 weighted imaging of a target tissue, comprising:
(a) a computer processor; and (b) a non-transitory computer-readable memory storing instructions executable by the computer processor; (c) wherein said instructions, when executed by the computer processor, perform steps comprising:
(i) acquiring image data from a target tissue site with at least one interleaved imaging shot;(ii) said imaging shot comprising data acquisition via one or more pulses directed at the target tissue at a first flip angle (αhigh) and one or more pulses directed at the target tissue at a second flip angle (αlow);(iii) wherein the first flip angle (αhigh) is larger than the second flip angle (αlow), and the first flip angle (αhigh) is less than 180°; and(iv) generating a 3D T2-weighted image from the acquired image data as a function of the at least one interleaved shot.