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High resolution MRI of the brain at 4.7 Tesla using fast spin echo imaging

¹ The Wellcome Trust High Field MR Research Laboratory, Department of Medical Physics and Bioengineering, University College London, 12 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, ² MR Research Systems, Unit 5, Merrow Lane, Guildford, Surrey GU4 7BF and ³ Division of Neuroradiology, Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK

Correspondence: Professor Roger Ordidge, The Wellcome Trust High Field MR Research Laboratory, Department of Medical Physics and Bioengineering, University College London, Shropshire House, 11–20 Capper Street, London WC1E 6JA, UK

Over recent years, high field MR scanners (3 T and above) have become increasingly widespread due to potential advantages such as higher signal-to-noise ratio. However, few examples of high resolution images covering the whole brain in reasonable acquisition times have been published to date and none have used fast spin echo (FSE), a sequence commonly employed for the acquisition of T₂ weighted images at 1.5 T. This is mostly due to the increased technical challenges associated with uniform signal generation and the increasingly restrictive constraints of current safety guidelines at high field. We investigated 10 volunteers using an FSE sequence optimized to the 4.7 T environment. This sequence allows the acquisition of 17- and 34-slice data sets with an in-plane resolution of approximately 500 µm x 500 µm and a slice thickness of 2 mm, in 5 min 40 s and 11 min 20 s, respectively. The images appear T₂ weighted, although the contrast is due to the combined effects of chosen echo time, magnetization transfer, direct radio frequency saturation and diffusion as well as the T₁ and T₂ relaxation times of the tissue. The result is an excellent detailed visualization of anatomical structures, demonstrating the great potential of 4.7 T MRI for clinical applications. This paper shows that, with careful optimization of sequence parameters, FSE imaging can be used at high field to generate images with high spatial resolution and uniform contrast across the whole brain within the prescribed power deposition limits.

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