MR Fourier transform arteriography using spectral decomposition.

Reliable separation of arteries from other stationary tissues is accomplished through spectral decomposition by exploiting the pulsatile nature of the blood flow in the arteries. Fourier transformation of a series of projection images in the temporal direction along the cardiac cycle results in spectral images where the arteries are a part of the harmonic component images while stationary tissues and veins are represented as a de component image. From the magnitude of the spectral images an arteriogram can be obtained by summation of the harmonic component images excluding the de component image. This principle is applied to Fourier imaging in a cine mode data acquisition as well as line scan imaging. Since there is no need for the encoding of the flow-sensitive gradient, this technique is free from eddy current artifacts which have been one of the major obstacles to projection angiography using the flow-encoding gradient.