CVMR requires high imaging speed and efficiency, which is fundamentally limited in conventional cardiovascular MRI studies. SCSE-FSE is feasible for imaging of the heart and of large cardiac vessels but also meets the needs of brain, abdominal and liver imaging.Д¬ardiovascular MR imaging (CVMR) has become a valuable modality for the non-invasive detection and characterization of cardiovascular diseases. SCSE-FSE reduces the risk for mis-registration between reference scans and accelerated acquisitions. SCSE-FSE obviates the need of external reference scans for SENSE reconstructed parallel imaging with FSE. The applicability of black blood prepared SCSE-FSE for cardiac imaging was demonstrated in healthy volunteers including accelerated multi-slice per breath-hold imaging and accelerated high spatial resolution imaging. The immunity of SCSE-FSE for motion induced mis-registration between reference and undersampled data was shown using a dynamic left ventricular model and cardiac imaging. Point spread function performance of SCSE-FSE was found to be competitive with traditional FSE variants. The feasibility of SCSE-FSE was demonstrated in phantom studies. Reference and undersampled data were acquired simultaneously. For both Double and Triple IR, the application of ASSET has led to two-fold reduction of the scan time.Дesign, validation and application of an accelerated fast spin-echo (FSE) variant that uses a split-echo approach for self-calibrated parallel imaging.ДЇor self-calibrated, split-echo FSE (SCSE-FSE), extra displacement gradients were incorporated into FSE to decompose odd and even echo groups which were independently phase encoded to derive coil sensitivity maps, and to generate undersampled data (reduction factor up to R = 3). Figures 2C and 1D show the ASSET counterparts. Figure 2A and 2B show the non-ASSET images at 42 ms TE1 and 102 ms TE2. Similarly, Figure 2 shows the comparison of the Triple IR dual-contrast images between with and without the application of ASSET. On both the non-ASSET and ASSET images, the blood is completely darkened and no flow artifacts are observed on the myocardial boundaries. Figures 1C and 1D show the ASSET counterparts. Figure 1A and 1B show the non-ASSET images at 42 ms TE1 and 102 ms TE2. RESULTS Figure 1 shows the comparison of the Double IR dual-contrast images between with and without the application of ASSET. Heart images of a normal volunteer were acquired in the direction of the short axis within a single breath-hold period with and then without the application of ASSET. A four channel torso phase array coil was used. The acquisition was acquired at the'Whole Body' gradient mode with the slew rate of 80 mT/m/ms. The following imaging parameters were applied: 42 ms TE1, 102 ms TE2, 575 ms TI, 62.5 kHz BW, ECG triggered with 2 R-R intervals, 40 cm FOV, 256Г—256 matrix size, 4 mm slice thickness, 1 NEX, 1 phase FOV, 4.2 ms echo spacing, and 0.5 ASSET acceleration factor. The second group with 16 ETL formed the image at the second TE (TE2). The first group of echoes with 16 ETL formed the image at the first TE (TE1). A total of 32 ETL (Echo Train Length) was used for the sequence. The dual contrast was achieved through a split echo train. The Triple IR preparation was consisted of the Double IR pulse and an extra RF pulse to suppress the fat signal. The Double IR preparation was consisted of a non-selective adiabatic inversion pulse followed immediately by a selective inversion pulse. METHOD Double/Triple IR preparation was implemented in the dual-contrast FSE sequence on a 1.5T GE Signa Twinspeed Whole-body MR scanner (GE Medical Systems, Milwaukee, WI) with EXCITE (Expanding Applications with MultiCoil Technology) technology. In this study, the ASSET (or SENSE) technique has been applied to reduce the required breath-hold time to complete the dual-contrast FSE image acquisition. However, the acquisition requires a long breath-hold period and thus limits its clinical application. This technique provides images with two different contrasts obtained at the same cardiac cycle through a single acquisition. This problem is reduced through the recently introduced black-blood dual-contrast FSE technique (5,6). However, these images have been acquired in separate scans, and thus image location is often registered incorrectly. In these studies, tissue contrast differentiation has been achieved through images acquired at different TE's (e.g., proton density and T2-weighted images). Its applications include myocardial tissue characterization (2), vessel wall imaging (3) and plaque characterization (4).

This method provides blood signal nulling to reduce flow artifacts in tissue boundaries.

INTRODUCTION Black-blood imaging using double or triple inversion recovery (Double/Triple IR) pulses for cardiovascular applications has increased in recent years (1,2,3,4).

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