0.3-SECOND FLASH MRI OF THE HUMAN-HEART

Flow‐suppressed FLASH MR images of the human heart have been recorded within a measuring time of 0.3 s using a 2.0‐T whole‐body research system (Siemens Magnetom) equipped with a conventional 10 mT m−1 gradient system. Subsecond imaging times have been achieved by reducing the repetition time to TR = 4.8 ms and by lowering the spatial resolution to 64 × 128 measured data points. The flip angle of the slice‐selective radiofrequency (rf) pulses was adjusted to 10o. Cardiac chambers, ventricular walls, and valves are well delineated in images from a single cardiac cycle using a field of view of 250 mm and a slice thickness of 8 mm. No motion artifacts were observed as a consequence of the short echo time of TE = 2.8 ms. Distinction between flowing blood and solid structures has been achieved by spatial presaturation of adjacent slices using two slice‐selective 90° rf pulses preceding the entire imaging sequence. Copyright © 1990 Wiley‐Liss, Inc., A Wiley Company