title: Short data-acquisition times improve projection images of lung tissue.
abstract: MR images of laboratory rat lungs that resolve the thin membranes that separate lung lobes are presented. It appears that the capabilities of in vivo small-animal pulmonary MRI may rival those of in vivo small-animal X-ray CT. Free induction decay (FID)-projection imaging was employed with particular attention to the choice of acquisition time. For a given nominal resolution, one obtains optimal point discrimination when the acquisition time T(acq) normalized by the signal decay time constant T(2)(*) is approximately 0.8-0.9, although a better signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is obtained when this quotient is 1.6. Currently available equipment should be able to even exceed the results presented herein.
authors.affiliation: New Mexico Resonance, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA. dkuethe@nmr.org
authors.forename: Dean O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Kuethe
authors.forename: Natalie L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Adolphi
authors.forename: Eiichi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fukushima
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008168:Lung / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D051381:Rats; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted