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. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.