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Fat signal suppression for coronary MRA at 3T using a water‐selective adiabatic T 2 ‐preparation technique
Author(s) -
Coristine Andrew J.,
van Heeswijk Ruud B.,
Stuber Matthias
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
magnetic resonance in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.696
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1522-2594
pISSN - 0740-3194
DOI - 10.1002/mrm.25428
Subject(s) - imaging phantom , spins , nuclear magnetic resonance , adiabatic process , pulse (music) , in vivo , excitation , abdominal fat , pulse sequence , physics , coronary arteries , materials science , medicine , optics , body weight , biology , artery , condensed matter physics , thermodynamics , microbiology and biotechnology , quantum mechanics , detector
Purpose To improve fat saturation in coronary MRA at 3T by using a spectrally selective adiabatic T 2 ‐Prep (WSA‐T 2 ‐Prep). Methods A conventional adiabatic T 2 ‐Prep (CA‐T 2 ‐Prep) was modified, such that the excitation and restoration pulses were of differing bandwidths. On‐resonance spins are T 2 ‐Prepared, whereas off‐resonance spins, such as fat, are spoiled. This approach was combined with a CHEmically Selective Saturation (CHESS) pulse to achieve even greater fat suppression. Numerical simulations were followed by phantom validation and in vivo coronary MRA. Results Numerical simulations demonstrated that augmenting a CHESS pulse with a WSA‐T 2 ‐Prep improved robustness to B 1 inhomogeneities and that this combined fat suppression was effective over a broader spectral range than that of a CHESS pulse in a conventional T 2 ‐Prepared sequence. Phantom studies also demonstrated that the WSA‐T 2 ‐Prep+CHESS combination produced greater fat suppression across a range of B 1 values than did a CA‐T 2 ‐Prep+CHESS combination. Lastly, in vivo measurements demonstrated that the contrast‐to‐noise ratio between blood and myocardium was not adversely affected by using a WSA‐T 2 ‐Prep, despite the improved abdominal and epicardial fat suppression. Additionally, vessel sharpness improved. Conclusion The proposed WSA‐T 2 ‐Prep method was shown to improve fat suppression and vessel sharpness as compared to a CA‐T 2 ‐Prep technique, and to also increase fat suppression when combined with a CHESS pulse. Magn Reson Med 72:763–769, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.