Combined T2-Weighted and MRCP 3D Imaging of the Abdomen Using a Dual-Contrast Single-Slab 3D-TSE Pulse Sequence

John P. Mugler, III¹, Wilhelm Horger², Berthold Kiefer²

This work explored the feasibility of acquiring both T2-weighted and MRCP images within the same 3D turbo-spin-echo (TSE) acquisition. By using a very long flip-angle train of up to 400 echoes that includes variable and constant flip-angle segments, T2-weighted and heavily T2-weighted (MRCP) high-resolution, 3D image sets of the abdomen were obtained with a single 3D-TSE acquisition in a clinically-acceptable acquisition time of 5-7 minutes. This approach has the potential to improve the quality and efficiency of diagnostic evaluation of the abdomen using MRI.