Imaging of Heterogeneous Materials with a Turbo Spin Echo Single-Point Imaging Technique

✍ Scribed by Steven D Beyea; Bruce J Balcom; Igor V Mastikhin; Theodore W Bremner; Robin L Armstrong; Patrick E Grattan-Bellew

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2000
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 324 KB
• Volume: 144
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1090-7807
• DOI: 10.1006/jmre.2000.2054

✦ Synopsis

A magnetic resonance imaging method is presented for imaging of heterogeneous broad linewidth materials. This method allows for distortionless relaxation weighted imaging by obtaining multiple phase encoded k-space data points with each RF excitation pulse train. The use of this method, turbo spin echo single-point imaging-(turboSPI), leads to decreased imaging times compared to traditional constant-time imaging techniques, as well as the ability to introduce spin-spin relaxation contrast through the use of longer effective echo times. Imaging times in turboSPI are further decreased through the use of low flip angle steady-state excitation. Two-dimensional images of paramagnetic doped agarose phantoms were obtained, demonstrating the contrast and resolution characteristics of the sequence, and a method for both amplitude and phase deconvolution was demonstrated for use in high-resolution turboSPI imaging. Three-dimensional images of a partially water-saturated porous volcanic aggregate (T 2L Ϸ 200 ms, ⌬ 1/2 Ϸ 2500 Hz) contained in a hardened white Portland cement matrix (T 2L Ϸ 0.5 ms, ⌬ 1/2 Ϸ 2500 Hz) and a water-saturated quartz sand (T 2 Ϸ 300 ms, T * 2 Ϸ 800 s) are shown.