Abstract #2408

McCormack E, Egnor M, Wagshul M

To overcome limitations in obtaining accurate quantitative information with phase contrast gradient echo sequences (PC-GRE) for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), a new technique is presented, phase contrast balanced steady state free precession, which improves accuracy of CSF measurements in multiple regions of the brain. CSF images acquired with PC-GRE suffer from very low SNR, due to the requirement of short repetition times (TR) for adequate temporal resolution, and the elaxation rate of CSF. CSF is often turbulent, causing phase dispersion and further signal loss. PC-bSSFP can overcome these limitations due to its high SNR and robustness against signal loss from turbulence.