Applications of dynamic contrast enhanced MR imaging are increasing and require both high spatial resolution and high temporal resolution. Perfusion studies using susceptibility contrast in particular require very high temporal resolution. The sliding window reconstruction is a technique for increasing temporal resolution. It has previously been applied to radial and spiral sampling, but these schemes require extensive correction and interpolation during image reconstruction. Fourier raw data can be reconstructed simply and quickly using the fast fourier transform (FFT). This paper presents a new Fourier-based sampling scheme and sliding window reconstruction that facilitates fast scanning without needing correction or interpolation. This technique can be used on virtually any MR scanner since it requires no specialized hardware. It is implemented here as a dual gradient echo sequence providing simultaneous T(1)- and T(2)*-weighted images with a time resolution of 1.1 s.
Copyright 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.