Single-shot line scan imaging using stimulated echoes.

A new high-speed MRI method is described for single-shot line scan imaging (LSI) based on stimulated echoes (STE). To allow for multislice imaging, the technique comprises a series of slice-selective preparation pulses (each corresponding to the first RF pulse of a STE sequence), a slab-selective refocusing pulse (second RF pulse), and multiple line-selective read pulses (third RF pulses). An alternative version employs packages of two slice-selective pulses followed by multiple line-selective read pulses. Experimental applications deal with human brain imaging on a clinical MRI system at 2.0 T. The technique offers user-selectable trade-offs between volume coverage (1-15 sections) and in-plane spatial resolution (1-5 mm linear pixel dimension) within total acquisition times of less than 500 ms. Although LSI yields a lower signal-to-noise ratio than Fourier imaging, single-shot LSI with STEs is free from resonance offset effects (e.g., magnetic field inhomogeneities and susceptibility differences) that are typical for echo-planar imaging. Moreover, the technique exhibits considerable robustness against motion and provides access to arbitrary fields-of-view, i.e., localized imaging of inner volumes without aliasing artifacts due to phase wrapping.