Nonaxial whole-body instant imaging.

We demonstrate that whole-body, single-shot imaging is practical for imaging out of the central plane, including oblique axes. The technique is illustrated by images of the heart in the cardiac long- and short-axis and by coronal images of the brain. Secondary gradients can produce additional image distortion and ghosting in these images. These artifacts are a direct consequence, predictable by Maxwell's equations, of the large gradients used in echo planar imaging. We show that these effects are, in general, made smaller by working at a high magnetic field.