Because of short signal lifetimes and respiratory motion, 3D MR lung imaging is still challenging today. Zero TE (ZTE) pulse sequences are promising as they overcome the problem of short T2*. Nevertheless, because of the continuous readout gradients they require, their k-space trajectories are non-optimal for retrospective gating. We propose AZTEK, a 3D radial trajectory featuring several tuning parameters to adapt the acquisition to any moving organ while keeping a smooth transition between consecutive spokes. The increase in image quality was validated with static and moving phantom experiments, and demonstrated with dynamic thoracic imaging performed on a human volunteer.
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