Siemens Medical Systems, Inc.

J Paul Finn

Orlando P Simonetti

Randall Kroeker

Jeffrey M Bundy

A segmented cine MR pulse sequence of the &ldquo;TrueFISP&rdquo;-type having a short repetition time TR is used to acquire MR data during a single breath hold. In the resulting cine images, the blood and the myocardium have distinctly different image contrasts.

Cardiac cine imaging with a short repetition time and high contrast between the blood and the myocardium

A three-dimensional gadolinium-enhanced MR study of e.g. the patient's thoracic vasculature is carried out while the patient holds his or her breath. Acquisition of all data in each three-dimensional partition takes place during one and only one heartbeat. By synchronizing the MR pulse sequence to the patient's cardiac cycle, and advantageously by acquiring the MR data during the diastolic phase of the cardiac cycle, image artifacts caused by cardiac motion and pulsatile flow are eliminated or minimized.

Cardiac-gated 3-dimensional MR angiography

An MR pulse sequence for conducting fat- or water-suppressed multislice MR studies. Saturation prepulses are used less frequently than is conventional practice. Each time at least one saturation prepulse is used to saturate all slices in a group of slices, one line of MR data is acquired from each slice in the group without using any other saturation prepulse.

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Cranbury, NJ, United States of America

J Paul Finn