Simultaneous Dual-Band Saturation for Reduced FOV Neuromelanin Imaging at 7T

Motivation: In neuromelanin (NM) imaging at 7T, placing bilateral sagittal saturation bands near the midbrain can mitigate ghosting artifacts and provide equivalent MT contrast compared to traditional MT pulses. Goal(s): To present the feasibility of a proposed simultaneous dual-band saturation scheme to provide MT contrast in NM imaging at 7T. Approach: Simultaneous dual-band saturation pulse was designed for the proposed simultaneous saturation scheme. Its performance in providing MT contrast was compared to the conventional sequential scheme for 3D GRE- and PETRA-based in-vivo NM imaging. Results: The proposed simultaneous dual-band saturation schemes yielded favorable contrast between the NM-rich SNpc and the surrounding tissues. Impact: The proposed simultaneous dual-band saturation scheme can provide symmetric saturation and MT effects in high-resolution rFOV NM imaging at 7T. The proposed scheme may also work for efficient out-of-volume suppression for MRS and blood suppression in certain MR applications.