Abstract: A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system, comprising a magnetic resonance imaging scanner. The MR scanner comprises a main magnet providing a substantially uniform main magnetic field B0 for a subject under observation, the subject represented by a spatial distribution of magnetizations; a radio frequency (RF) coil system configured to irradiate a plurality of radio frequency (RF) pulses into a region of interest of the subject and to detect a plurality of RF response signals emitted from the region of interest; a gradient coil system configured to provide a perturbation of the main magnetic field B0 using a gradient pulse sequence that causes the RF response signals to encode the spatial distribution of magnetizations in a Fourier domain on a plurality of read-out paths; and a controller in communication with the RF coil system and the gradient coil system to synchronously provide the RF coil system with the plurality of RF pulses and the gradient coil system with the gradient pulse sequence.

Abstract: A method for fat-suppressed imaging is disclosed. Such a method may include storing a first spectral component of an echo signal formed at TR/2 from a sample, suppressing a second spectral component of the echo signal at TR/2, re-exciting the stored spectral component after suppressing the second spectral component, and producing an image of the sample based on the re-excited stored spectral component.

Abstract: A method that exploits the intrinsic selectivity of steady-state free precession (SSFP) to perform spectral suppression is disclosed. Such a method avoids the need to incorporate additional spectrally selective pulse sequence elements. The scheme is based on breaking the FISP imaging sequence into short trains having, for example, 8–64 RF pulses. At the moment of echo formation (i.e., TE=TR/2) after the last full RF pulse of the train, water signal is z-stored. Residual transverse magnetization, which include isochromats phase-opposed to the on-resonance water, is gradient crushed and RF spoiled. The stored magnetization is subsequently re-excited with little disturbance to the on-resonance steady-state water signal. The additional time required to perform the steady-state interruption is typically as little as a single TR, minimally affecting the efficiency of the imaging process.