Design of calibration‐free RF pulses for T2$$ {}_2 $$‐weighted single‐slab 3D turbo‐spin‐echo sequences at 7T utilizing parallel transmission.

Autor: Lowen, Daniel, Pracht, Eberhard D., Gras, Vincent, Massire, Aurelien, Mauconduit, Franck, Stoecker, Tony, Boulant, Nicolas
Předmět:
Zdroj: Magnetic Resonance in Medicine; Nov2024, Vol. 92 Issue 5, p2037-2050, 14p
Abstrakt: Purpose: T 2$$ {}_2 $$‐weighted turbo‐spin‐echo (TSE) sequences are a fundamental technique in brain imaging but suffer from field inhomogeneities at ultra‐high fields. Several methods have been proposed to mitigate the problem, but were limited so far to nonselective three‐dimensional (3D) measurements, making short acquisitions difficult to achieve when targeting very high resolution images, or needed additional calibration procedures, thus complicating their application. Methods: Slab‐selective excitation pulses were designed for flexible placement utilizing the concept of k T$$ {}_T $$‐spokes. Phase‐coherent refocusing universal pulses were subsequently optimized with the Gradient Ascent Pulse Engineering algorithm and tested in vivo for improved signal homogeneity. Results: Implemented within a 3D variable flip angle TSE sequence, these pulses led to a signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) improvement ranging from 10% to 30% compared to a two‐dimensional (2D) T2w TSE sequence employing B1+$$ {\mathrm{B}}_1^{+} $$‐shimmed pulses. B1+$$ {\mathrm{B}}_1^{+} $$ field inhomogeneities could be mitigated and artifacts from B0$$ {\mathrm{B}}_0 $$ deviations reduced. The concept of universal pulses was successfully applied. Conclusion: We present a pulse design method which provides a set of calibration‐free universal pulses (UPs) for slab‐selective excitation and phase‐coherent refocusing in slab‐selective TSE sequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Databáze: Complementary Index