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Acquisition-weighted stack of spirals for fast ultrashort-TE MR imaging

Detailed Technology Description

None

*Abstract

Acquisition-weighted stack of spirals (AWSOS) technique, consisting of pulse sequence and image reconstruction, is a fast ultra-short echo time (TE) data acquisition technique for proton and non-proton magnetic resonance (MR) imaging on human tissues with short transverse relaxation times (T2<10ms). In this technique, short T2-induced MR signal decay is minimized using variable-duration phase encodings and movable spiral data collections and a three-dimensional (3D) image with high in-plane resolution (~1mm) is produced. It can be used on clinical MRI scanners with main magnetic field of 1.5T (for proton) or 3T (for proton and non-proton). This technique is developed for disease diagnosis and treatment monitoring in human tissues such as cortical bone, tendons, ligaments and muscles using proton MRI, or for metabolic activity evaluations of cells using non-proton MRI (e. g., tumor cells or cells during ischemia using sodium MRI). Short-T2 relaxation times lead to rapid decay of MR signals and make those tissues or cells invisible using conventional MRI techniques with long echo times. The signal loss can be significantly minimized using AWSOS technique and the blind tissues or cells will be visualized. AdvantagesThe AWSOS sequence has four features different from existing techniques: 1) Soft rf pulse excitation reduces the imaging coverage in slice direction and thus shortens the scan time;2) Variable-duration phase encodings minimizes T2-induced MR signal decay during the phase encoding;3) Movable spiral data collections take advantage of the variable-duration phase encodings and further minimize T2-induced signal decay during the readout; and4) Spiral data collections reduces in-plane scan time.

*Principal Investigator

Name: Fernando Boada

Department: Med-Radiology

Name: Yongxian Qian, Research Instructor

Department: Med-Radiology

Country/Region

USA