Fast 3 D T 2 ‐weighted imaging using variable flip angle transition into driven equilibrium (3 D T 2 ‐ TIDE ) balanced SSFP for prostate imaging at 3 T

Purpose Three‐dimensional (3D) T 2 ‐weighted fast spin echo (FSE) imaging of the prostate currently requires long acquisition times. Our objective was to develop a fast 3D T 2 ‐weighted sequence for prostate imaging at 3T using a variable flip angle transition into driven equilibrium (T 2 ‐TIDE) scheme. Methods 3D T 2 ‐TIDE uses interleaved spiral‐out phase encode ordering to efficiently sample the k y –k z phase encodes and also uses the transient balanced steady‐state free precession signal to acquire the center of k‐space for T 2 ‐weighted imaging. Bloch simulations and images from 10 healthy subjects were acquired to evaluate the performance of 3D T 2 ‐TIDE compared to 3D FSE. Results 3D T 2 ‐TIDE images were acquired in 2:54 minutes compared to 7:02 minutes for 3D FSE with identical imaging parameters. The signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) efficiency was significantly higher for 3D T 2 ‐TIDE compared to 3D FSE in nearly all tissues, including periprostatic fat (45 ± 12 vs. 31 ± 7, P  < 0.01), gluteal fat (48 ± 8 vs. 41 ± 10, P  = 0.12), right peripheral zone (20 ± 4 vs. 16 ± 8, P  = 0.12), left peripheral zone (17 ± 2 vs. 12 ± 3, P  < 0.01), and anterior fibromuscular stroma (12 ± 4 vs. 4 ± 2, P  < 0.01). Conclusion 3D T 2 ‐TIDE images of the prostate can be acquired quickly with SNR efficiency that exceeds that of 3D FSE. Magn Reson Med 74:442–451, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.