Single echo MRI.

PURPOSE

Previous nonlinear gradient research has focused on trajectories that reconstruct images with a minimum number of echoes. Here we describe sequences where the nonlinear gradients vary in time to acquire the image in a single readout. The readout is designed to be very smooth so that it can be compressed to minimal time without violating peripheral nerve stimulation limits, yielding an image from a single 4 ms echo.

THEORY AND METHODS

This sequence was inspired by considering the code of each voxel, i.e. the phase accumulation that a voxel follows through the readout, an approach connected to traditional encoding theory. We present simulations for the initial sequence, a low slew rate analog, and higher resolution reconstructions.

RESULTS

Extremely fast acquisitions are achievable, though as one would expect, SNR is reduced relative to the slower Cartesian sampling schemes because of the high gradient strengths.

CONCLUSIONS

The prospect that nonlinear gradients can acquire images in a single <10 ms echo makes this a novel and interesting approach to image encoding.