1Electrical
Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States; 2Palo
Alto Foundation, Palo Alto, CA, United States
Velocity-selective (VS) excitation is a promising magnetization preparation for non-contrast-enhanced (NCE) MRA as it can generate positive angiographic contrast directly without subtraction. This work aims to develop a new version of the VS excitation pulse sequence that is robust to off-resonance and demonstrate its application to NCE peripheral MRA. The proposed VS pulse design modifies a reference k-space-based design by incorporating 180° refocusing pulses and tailoring sequence parameters in a limited velocity region-of-interest. The improved off-resonance immunity and clinical feasibility of NCE peripheral MRA using the proposed VS preparation are shown in healthy and patient subjects.
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