Towards True Arterial Intracranial TOF-MRA at 7T: Protocol Optimization Using VERSE Pulses

Soeren Johst¹, Sebastian Schmitter², Armin Nagel¹, Wolfhard Semmler¹, Michael Bock¹

TOF MRA highly profits from high fields, however, SAR restrictions limit the use of high-resolution protocols. In particular, venous suppression with saturation pulses is difficult within clinically acceptable measurement times (TA 10min). Using the VERSE algorithm on the excitation pulses as well as on the energy-intensive saturation pulses permits an effective SAR reduction that can be used to shorten the acquisition time. With a modified TOF MRA pulse sequence high resolution intracranial MRA data sets with excellent venous suppression could be acquired in 10 min at 7 Tesla.