B1AC-MAMBA: B1 array combined with multiple-acquisition micro B0 array parallel magnetic resonance imaging

Abstract

The combination of an in-plane B1 sensitivity encoding (SENSE) technique with a simultaneous multiple-slice B0 field step technique (multiple-acquisition micro B0 array (MAMBA)) has produced high scan time reduction factors (R ± 8). In this study, two slices were acquired simultaneously in combination with x2 and x4 SENSE in-plane encoding using a MAMBA stepped B0 field coil inside a four-channel phased-array coil system. Experiments were performed on a 1.5 T Infinion system (Philips Medical Systems, Cleveland, OH). The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was reduced with higher R factors, as was expected from the reduced number of acquisitions used to create the unaliased images. The combination of SENSE and MAMBA offers great promise for reducing scan times through parallel acquisition while at the same time reducing the number of RF channels required by a factor equal to the number of field steps employed. The B1 array combined with MAMBA (B1AC-MAMBA) technique is applicable when the length of an object is much greater than its diameter, as in scanning limbs or in whole-body screening for disease. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.