Martin G. Busch1, 2, Jrgen Finsterbusch1, 2
1Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; 2Neuroimage Nord, University Medical Centers Hamburg-Kiel-Lbeck, Hamburg-Kiel-Lbeck, Germany
2D-selective RF excitations are an interesting tool to minimize partial volume effects in MR spectroscopy. The blipped-planar trajectory is a simple and robust basis for such 2DRF excitations but it suffers from reduced signal efficiency if segmentation is applied to shorten the 2DRF pulse durations. This is due to the fact that with conventional segmentation only one segment samples the k-space center and yields a high signal amplitude. Here, a modified segmentation scheme is presented where each segment covers the central k-space line. Thus, the signal efficiency of segmented, blipped-planar 2DRF excitations can be considerably improved.