A fast gradient-recalled MRI technique with increased sensitivity to dynamic susceptibility effects.

A fast imaging method that is based on gradient-recalled echoes of spins whose excitation and echo formation are separated by more than one TR period is presented. This method does not incorporate chemical-shift refocusing and thus results in drastically increased sensitivity to dynamic susceptibility effects, while maintaining a short total imaging time. The efficiency of the new technique is demonstrated in dynamic contrast-enhanced experiments (bolus tracking) in the cat brain using a duration of 600 ms for each image. Blood volume maps are derived with expected contrast between white and gray matter.