Two-point dixon technique for water-fat signal decomposition with B-o inhomogeneity correction

To separate water and lipid resonance signals by phase-sensitive MRI, a two-point Dixon (2PD) reconstruction is presented in which phase-unwrapping is used to obtain an inhomogeneity map based on only in-phase and out-of-phase image data, Two relaxation-weighted images, a ''water image'' and a ''fat image,'' representing a two-resonance peak model of proton density, are output. The method is designed for T-1- or density-weighted spin-echo imaging; a double-echo scheme is more appropriate for T-2-weighted spin-echo imaging. The technique is more time-efficient for clinical fat-water imaging than 3PD schemes, while still correcting for field inhomogeneity.