3D GRASE with Long Echo Trains and Inner Volume Excitation

Motivation: High-resolution 3D first spin echo (FSE) with long echo trains may require long scan times because of 3D k-space coverage. Goal(s): Our goal was to accelerate the high-resolution 3D FSE acquisition. Approach: We implemented a GRASE-type (gradient- and spin-echo) acquisition and inner volume excitation to reduce scan times. Results: The GRASE-type data acquisition enabled more rapid k-space sampling, while the impact of the increased sensitivity to off-resonance/magnetic susceptibility effects was minor at 3T. Inner volume excitation was useful to reduce the scan time while maintaining spatial resolution or to increase the spatial resolutions while maintaining scan time. Impact: 3D high-resolution FSE acquisitions have been accelerated by combining GRASE acquisitions, long echo trains and inner volume excitation, allowing efficient 3D k-space sampling for rapid high-resolution imaging.