Abstract #3030

Rahmer J, Brnert P

Ultrashort echo-time imaging (UTE) employs 2D or 3D radial free-induction-decay sequences to minimize TE. With echo times in the order of 100 &[mu]s and below, these techniques enable the detection of species with T2 in the submillisecond range. However, choosing the optimal sampling window duration TAQ for imaging short-T2 components is not trivial. A short TAQ reduces the overall signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), whereas a long TAQ reduces resolution and SNR of short-T2 components due to relaxation effects. To find an optimal TAQ, the point-spread function was calculated for short-T2 signal components acquired using the UTE technique. 3D UTE phantom measurements are presented to verify these simulations.