Increasing value of MRI in evaluation of gynecologic malignancies by decreasing scan time and reducing artifacts through the replacement of fast spin echo (FSE) with variable refocusing flip angle single-shot FSE (vrfSSFSE)

Variable refocusing flip angle single-shot fast spin echo (vrfSSFSE) with outer volume suppression (OVS) improves upon standard single-shot fast spin echo (SSFSE or HASTE): 1) decreasing average flip angles thereby reducing specific absorption rate (SAR) limited acquisition times, 2) reducing blurring from T2 decay, 3) allowing full-Fourier acquisitions. Although improving upon conventional SSFSE, it remains unknown if vrfSSFSE with OVS can approach the image quality and diagnostic capability of fast spin echo (FSE). We found vrfSSFSE comparable to FSE in signal-to-noise and contrast and superior to FSE in coherent artifact reduction, depending on the plane of imaging.