Comparison of image quality and acquistion time of Free-Breathing (FB) motion corrected (MOCO) SSFP to current PSIR sequences: is one sequence superior?

Background Delayed myocardial enhancement (DE) sequences have become essential in cardiac MRI (CMRI) for visualization of abnormal myocardium. DE sequences require an inversion pulse to null normal myocardium, and the introduction of phase-sensitive inversion recovery (PSIR) sequences, which are less sensitive to small variations in inversion time (TI), have provided a suitable alternative to magnitude inversion recovery sequences. Two PSIR sequences are widely available, the single-shot SSFP PSIR (SS-SSFP) and segmented turbo FLASH (STF) PSIR sequences. The SS-SSFP PSIR sequence has a short acquisition time making it motion insensitive, but also limiting resolution. The STF PSIR is a longer sequence with better resolution, but also requires several breath holds. The recent introduction of a free-breathing (FB) motion-corrected (MOCO) version of the SS-SSFP PSIR (FB MOCO SSFP) may offer a compromise between image resolution and acquisition time by combining the speed and motion-insensitivity of SS-SSFP PSIR with a resolution similar to STF PSIR. Since CMRI is a timeintensive exam, comparison of these sequences regarding both image quality and acquisition time is necessary.