Efficient multi-echo steady-state imaging with spatial-resolution enhancement

Motivation: Multi-echo steady-state techniques enable efficient relaxometry by rapidly acquiring multiple imaging contrasts, but require strong gradients or low through-plane resolution to minimize artifact Goal(s): Propose an efficient multi-contrast acquisition/reconstruction strategy providing isotropic spatial resolution for both morphological and quantitative tissue analysis. Approach: Exploiting RF phase and gradient spoiling effects on steady-state signal dynamics, higher-frequency information can be included within the nominally sampled k-space region, and retrospectively extracted through a physics-informed process to produce super-resolution images. Results: Applied to in vivo 3D brain and knee experiments at 3T, our approach yields simultaneously 3 contrast images with enhanced spatial resolution and preserved contrast features. Impact: Our proposed strategy shows promise as an efficient trade-off between high spatial-resolution, artifact minimisation, and SNR requirements, enabling efficient relaxometry and morphological imaging in a single rapid protocol.