Abstract #2579

A Novel Radiofrequency Pulse Design for Improving Flip-Angle Uniformity in Ultra-High Field MRI

Jason E. Moore¹, Marcin Jankiewicz^1,2, Huairen Zeng^1,2, Adam W. Anderson^1,3, Malcolm J. Avison^1,3, E Brian Welch^1,4, John C. Gore^1,3

¹Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; ²Department of Radiology, Vanderbilt University; ³Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University; ⁴Philips Healthcare, Cleveland, OH, USA

A pulse design method involving a composite of numerous block pulses with amplitude and phases subject to numerical optimization is introduced with the goal of achieving a uniform flip angle distribution across a wide range of field strengths. Possible applications include B₁⁺ insensitive excitation and refocusing at ultra-high field.