title: Simple and robust saturation-based slice selection for ultrashort echo time MRI.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To present a new method for localizing signal within a two-dimensional (2D) slice suitable for ultrashort echo time (UTE) imaging, called saturation-based UTE (sat-UTE). The new method digitally subtracts two acquisitions that are nonselectively excited with and without selective saturation of the slice of interest.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sat-UTE was compared with half-pulse and double-half pulse excited UTE within phantoms, as well as 3D-UTE within ex vivo femur and in vivo tibia. Numerical simulations were also used to quantify the effects of slice profile broadening and signal component amplitudes for quantitative UTE.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sat-UTE is robust to suppress out-of-slice signal, and produces short T2 signal decay curves comparable to 3D-UTE, but has a lower signal to noise ratio efficiency compared with other slice-selective methods.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The proposed method is useful for fast, quantitative evaluation of short T2 signals, and is insensitive to gradient performance.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Harkins
authors.affiliation: Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.|Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
authors.forename: R Adam
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Horch
authors.affiliation: Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.|Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.|Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.|Electrical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
authors.forename: Mark D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Does
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D013977:Tibia / Q000033:anatomy & histology*
keywords: 2D; UTE; saturation; slice selective; ultrashort echo time