Abstract #4530

Improving Contrast to Noise Ratio of Resonance Frequency Contrast Images (Phase Images) using BSSFP

Jongho Lee^1,2, Masaki Fukunaga^1,3, Jeff H. Duyn¹

¹Advanced MRI section/LFMI/NINDS, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States; ²Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia, PA, United States; ³Biofunctional Imaging, WPI Immunology Frontier Research Center, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan

Resonance frequency shifts as measured from gradient-echo phase images provide unique detail of the human brain, in particular at high field. Here we demonstrate a new method to improve contrast-to-noise ration (CNR) of phase images using balanced SSFP. GRE and bSSFP sequences were individually optimized for maximum phase CNR and applied to measure contrast between gray and white matter in normal human brain. The results shows that, in limited brain regions, bSSFP provides a 2.85 times increased CNR efficiency at 3 T and a 1.71 times increased CNR efficiency at 7 T.