Fat attenuation using a dual steady-state balanced-SSFP sequence with periodically variable flip angles.
A refocused-SSFP sequence based on balanced-FFE (TrueFisp, Fiesta) that attenuates fat signal is presented. The sequence uses periodically variable flip angles and produces a dual steady state of the signal, which is obtained after a dual transient phase if an appropriate preparation is used. The off-resonance profile of the steady-state signal exhibits large stopbands that can be employed for fat suppression. Numerical simulations were performed to investigate the signal behavior and the off-resonance properties of the sequence. Experimental results obtained with a Philips Gyroscan Intera 1.5T MR scanner demonstrated fat attenuation in phantoms and abdominal images in volunteers.
Absil
J
J
Unité d'IRM-Radiologie, Hôpital Erasme, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium. Julie.Absil@ulb.ac.be
Denolin
V
V
Metens
T
T
D050153:Abdominal Fat / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D016477:Artifacts; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging