title: Balanced steady state-free precession (b-SSFP) imaging for MRCP: techniques and applications.
abstract: Balanced steady state-free precession (b-SSFP) pulse sequences have a number of properties which can be useful in magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP), including short acquisition times, high signal-to-noise ratios, and T2/T1 contrast weighting. The utility and versatility of b-SSFP sequences for MRCP imaging are probably underappreciated, and this pictorial essay briefly discusses benefits and limitations of 2D and 3D b-SSFP techniques used in place of or in addition to conventional single-shot fast spin echo or 3D fast spin echo acquisitions and illustrates their appearance in several clinical cases.
authors.affiliation: Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, 55905, Rochester, MN, USA, glockner.james@mayo.edu.
authors.forename: James F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Glockner
authors.forename: Christine U
authors.initials: CU
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001659:Biliary Tract / Q000473:pathology*; D001660:Biliary Tract Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D049448:Cholangiopancreatography, Magnetic Resonance / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results