VERSE Implementation for STEAM at 7 T

Oleksandr Khorkhordin¹, Frank Godenschweger¹, Kai Zhong¹, Oliver Speck¹

RF inhomogeneity at 7 T creates problems for MRS due to the limited available transmitter voltage. Standard spectroscopic sequences such as STEAM or PRESS require short and thus high bandwidth 90 or 180 pulses for selective volume excitation in locations with low B1. In this study, VERSE was implemented in a STEAM sequence to reduce the peak voltage requirement for the excitation pulses. The modified sequence was tested in both phantom and in vivo studies and the results showed clear improvement of the spectra compared to 3T.