An Algebraic Solution for Banding Artifact Removal in BSSFP Imaging

Michael Nicholas Hoff¹, Qing-San Xiang^1,2

An algebraic solution (AS) to the bSSFP banding artifact problem is discovered and compared with a preceding geometric cross-solution (GS). Testing on simulated and actual MR images shows that both techniques eliminate bands. The solutions vary in form, in noise performance, and in response to real and imaginary data swapping. As noise is increased, GS outperforms AS in terms of SNR. Nonetheless, the incoherent nature of residual artifact in AS permits regional processing which can yield SNR levels comparable with GS. The existence of two independent solutions should encourage further investigation into optimized methods of bSSFP signal demodulation.