ACUT2E TSE‐SSFP: A hybrid method for T2‐weighted imaging of edema in the heart

Abstract

ACUT₂E TSE‐SSFP is a hybrid between steady state free precession (SSFP) and turbo spin echo (TSE) for bright‐blood T2‐weighted imaging with signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) and contrast‐to‐noise ratio (CNR) similar to dark‐blood TSE. TSE‐SSFP uses a segmented SSFP readout during diastole with 180° pulses following a 90° preparation. The 180° refocusing pulses make TSE‐SSFP similar to TSE but TSE‐SSFP uses gradient moment nulling, whereas TSE uses gradient crushing. TSE‐SSFP produced T2‐weighted images with minimal T1 weighting. TSE‐SSFP and TSE had similar SNR (155.9 ± 6.0 vs 160.9 ± 7.0; P = NS) for acute myocardial infarction (MI) and twice the SNR of T2‐prepared SSFP (73.1 ± 3.4, P < 0.001). TSE‐SSFP and TSE had approximately double the CNR of T2‐prepared SSFP for differentiating acute MI from normal myocardium. Imperfect blood suppression, present in all animals on some TSE images, was a problem eliminated by TSE‐SSFP and T2‐prepared SSFP. Magn Reson Med 59:229–235, 2008.