3D Fluid-Suppressed T2-Prep Flow-Independent Angiography using Balanced SSFP

N. K. Bangerter, B. A. Hargreaves, J. H. Brittain, B. Hu, S. S. Vasanawala, D. G. Nishimura Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States, ASL-West, GE Medical Systems, Menlo Park, CA, United States, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Palo Alto, CA, United States, Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States INTRODUCTION: Recent work has shown that the high SNR, short scan times, and flow properties of balanced steady-state free precession (SSFP) make it an excellent candidate for flow-independent angiography (FIA), particularly where high spatial resolution is required [1,2]. However, the characteristic bright fluid signal of balanced SSFP can obscure vascular structure when long-T1 fluids, such as edema or sinovial fluid, are present in the region of interest. Balanced SSFP angiograms of the hand and foot, for example, suffer from bright sinovial fluid signal in the joints. Balanced SSFP angiograms of the extremities in patients with peripheral swelling may be obscured by bright signal from edema.