Fast RF Flip Angle Calibration by Bloch-Siegert Shift

Laura Sacolick¹, Ling Sun², Mika W. Vogel¹, Ileana Hancu³

Here we present a novel method for automated RF flip angle calibration based on the Bloch-Siegert shift. The Bloch-Siegert shift is an effect where spin resonance frequency shifts when an off-resonance RF field is applied. Two off-resonance RF pulses were added to a slice-selective spin echo sequence. The off-resonance pulses induce a phase shift in the acquired signal that is proportional to B12. The signal is spatially localized in two dimensions- by slice selection and readout filter, and the signal weighted average B1 over the slice is calculated. This calibration from a starting system transmit gain to measured average flip angle is used to calculate the transmit gain setting needed to produce the desired flip angle. This is shown here at 3 Tesla in the brain, shoulder, abdomen, breast, and wrist with a total scan time for a robust implementation of 1.6 seconds.