Hesamoddin
Jahanian1,2, Douglas C. Noll1,2, Luis Hernandez-Garcia1,2
1Functional MRI Laboratory, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; 2Department of
Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
The
recent introduction of pseudo-continuous inversion pulses (pCASL) has the
potential to greatly facilitate the use of continuous Arterial Spin Labeling
(ASL). However, field inhomogeneities, can compromise the tagging efficiency
of pCASL, which causes loss in SNR and severe quantification error. We
propose a method to restore the loss in labeling efficiency by correcting the
phase of the RF pulses in combination with a z-shimming scheme. This will
provide more robust perfusion measurements than the conventional
pseudo-continuous technique. The method is demonstrated using numerical
simulation and In-vivo data.