Use of Simulated Annealing for the Design of Multiple TR BSSFP Sequences in Positive Contrast Imaging

Kuan J. Lee¹, Hsu-Lei Lee¹, Jrgen Hennig¹, Jochen Leupold¹

We introduce a novel multiple TR bSSFP sequence for positive contrast imaging. Using simulated annealing, the sequence has been designed for a spectral profile that has stopbands over both fat and water resonances. This enables simultaneous water and fat suppression, which improves contrast without requiring a second acquisition, as with for example, the PARTS (Positive Contrast with Alternating Repetition Time SSFP) technique.