{Reference Type}: Journal Article
{Title}: Design and development of a novel flexible ultra-short echo time (FUSE) sequence.
{Author}: Cui L;McWalter EJ;Moran G;Venugopal N;
{Journal}: Magn Reson Med
{Volume}: 90
{Issue}: 5
{Year}: 2023 11 1
{Factor}: 3.737
{DOI}: 10.1002/mrm.29784
{Abstract}: To present the validation of a new Flexible Ultra-Short Echo time (FUSE) pulse sequence using a short-T2 phantom.<BR>FUSE was developed to include a range of RF excitation pulses, trajectories, dimensionalities, and long-T2 suppression techniques, enabling real-time interchangeability of acquisition parameters. Additionally, we developed an improved 3D deblurring algorithm to correct for off-resonance artifacts. Several experiments were conducted to validate the efficacy of FUSE, by comparing different approaches for off-resonance artifact correction, variations in RF pulse and trajectory combinations, and long-T2 suppression techniques. All scans were performed on a 3 T system using an in-house short-T2 phantom. The evaluation of results included qualitative comparisons and quantitative assessments of the SNR and contrast-to-noise ratio.<BR>Using the capabilities of FUSE, we demonstrated that we could combine a shorter readout duration with our improved deblurring algorithm to effectively reduce off-resonance artifacts. Among the different RF and trajectory combinations, the spiral trajectory with the regular half-inc pulse achieves the highest SNRs. The dual-echo subtraction technique delivers better short-T2 contrast and superior suppression of water and agar signals, whereas the off-resonance saturation method successfully suppresses water and lipid signals simultaneously.<BR>In this work, we have validated the use of our new FUSE sequence using a short T2 phantom, demonstrating that multiple UTE acquisitions can be achieved within a single sequence. This new sequence may be useful for acquiring improved UTE images and the development of UTE imaging protocols.