Fat and Water Separation in Balanced Steady-State Free Precession Using the Dixon Method
Journal
Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
Journal Volume
51
Journal Issue
2
Pages
243-247
Date Issued
2004
Author(s)
Abstract
In this work the feasibility of separating fat and water signals using the balanced steady-state free precession (SSFP) technique is demonstrated. The technique is based on the observation (Scheffler and Hennig, Magnetic Resonance in Medicine 2003;49:395-397) that at the nominal values of TE = TR/2 in SSFP imaging, phase coherence can be achieved at essentially only two orientations (0° and 180°) relative to the RF pulses in the rotating frame, under the assumption of TR ? T2, and independently of the SSFP angle. This property allows in-phase and out-of-phase SSFP images to be obtained by proper choices of the center frequency offset, and thus allows the Dixon subtraction method to be utilized for effective fat-water separation. The TR and frequency offset for optimal fat-water separation are derived from theories. Experimental results from healthy subjects, using a 3.0 Tesla system, show that nearly complete fat suppression can be accomplished. ? 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Subjects
Dixon method; Fat-water separation; Frequency offset; In-phase and out-of-phase images; Steady-state free precession
Other Subjects
Frequency allocation; Magnetic resonance; Separation; Dixon methods; Frequency offsets; Out of phase; Steady state free precessions; Water separation; Image processing; fat; water; adult; article; clinical article; female; human; human experiment; image subtraction; imaging; male; normal human; nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; orientation; separation technique; signal noise ratio; steady state
Type
journal article