Peter J. Ross1,
Lionel M. Broche1, Kerrin J. Pine1, David J. Lurie1
1Aberdeen
Biomedical Imaging Centre, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, United
Kingdom
Fast Field-Cycling (FFC) adds a new dimension to MRI by rapidly switching B0 between levels during a pulse sequence. In this way it is possible to observe the variation of tissue T1 with field strength. Relaxometric FFC imaging collects data for T1 images at a range of field strengths, but is inherently time-consuming. We have greatly increased the speed of acquisition by collecting only one inversion-recovery image per field and by implementing an FFC Fast Spin-Echo sequence. Typical acquisition time is 30 min for a set of T1 images at 22 field strengths, making volunteer or clinical studies feasible.