Yi Wang1, 2, Emilee Minalga1, 2, Allison Payne2, Glen Morrell2, Dennis L. Parker1, 2
1Bioengineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States; 2Utah Center for Advanced Imaging Research, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
bSSFP sequences offer superior signal intensity in a relative short time. However, fat could appear very bright due to its high T2/T1 values. Fat signal suppression or elimination can be helpful to uncover information that might otherwise be obscured by fat, e.g., lesions and blood vessels in breast imaging. Initial work on achieving two-point Dixon fat and water separation in breast using the dual-echo SSFP sequence has been reported. In this work, we simulate the signal behavior of the dual-echo SSFP to assist in choosing the optimal flip angle for in vivo breast imaging in a breast-specific MR guided high intensity focused ultrasound system.