Multiple echo SSFP sequences

Abstract
We report a new type of SSFP imaging sequences for acquiring higher‐order echoes. Spins excited during a cycle have, in a sense, a phase memory such that they can be refocused several cycles down the line, and since the spins are pulsed under a steady‐state condition, the resulting echoes have very complicated T1 and T2 dependencies. A steady‐state equation, which describes the T1 and T2 dependencies for the higher‐order echoes, is presented, and the intensity of each echo is calculated and compared with the experimental results. Although the signal intensity of the higher‐order echoes are weaker than the FID or the CE‐FAST echo, these echoes may be used to obtain images with different contrast dependencies previously unobtainable with either of the two signals. © 1991 Academic Press. Inc.

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