title: Magnetic Resonance Imaging with Composite (Dual) Gradients.
abstract: The tradeoff between gradient performance factors, size of the imaging region, and physiological factors such as nerve stimulation typically leads to compromises in gradient design and ultimately suboptimal imaging performance. Local gradient systems can add some performance flexibility, but are cumbersome to set up and remove. In nearly all conventional MRI systems, the use of local gradients precludes the use of the more homogeneous whole body gradients. This paper presents the concept of dynamically selectable composite gradient systems where local gradients and whole body gradients can be selected independently and simultaneously. The relative performance of whole body, insert, and composite gradients is predicted for echoplanar (EPI), turbo spin echo (TSE), and steady state free precession (SSFP). A realization of the concept is presented.
authors.affiliation: Utah Center for Advanced Imaging Research, Department of Radiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
authors.forename: Dennis L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.forename: K Craig
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Goodrich
authors.forename: J Rock
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Hadley
authors.forename: Seong-Eun
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sung M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: Blaine A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Chronik
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Fontius
authors.forename: Franz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schmitt