Projection reconstruction balanced fast field echo for interactive real-time cardiac imaging.
A balanced fast field echo (FFE) sequence (also referred to as true fast imaging with steady precession (true FISP)), based on projection reconstruction (PR) is evaluated in combination with real-time reconstruction and interactive scanning capabilities for cardiac function studies. Cardiac image sequences obtained with the balanced PR-FFE method are compared with images obtained with a spin-warp (2D Fourier transform (2DFT)) technique. In particular, the representation of motion artifacts in both techniques is investigated. Balanced PR-FFE provides a similar contrast to spin-warp-related techniques, but is less sensitive to motion artifacts. The use of angular undersampling within balanced PR-FFE is examined as a means to increase temporal resolution while causing only minor artifacts. Furthermore, a modification of the profile order allows the reconstruction of PR images at different spatial and temporal resolution levels from the same data. This study shows that balanced PR-FFE is a robust tool for cardiac function studies.
Schaeffter
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T
Philips Research Laboratories, Hamburg, Germany. Tobias.Schaeffter@philips.com
Weiss
S
S
Eggers
H
H
Rasche
V
V
D016477:Artifacts; D006321:Heart / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*