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Updated: Aug 11, 2026
Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Skeletal Muscle Disease
Published on: December 18, 2016
Multislice double inversion pulse sequence for efficient black-blood MRI
Hee Kwon Song1, Alexander C Wright, Ronald L Wolf
1Laboratory for Structural NMR Imaging, Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. hsong@oasis.rad.upenn.edu
Abstract:
Over the last several years there has been a rapidly growing interest in high-resolution MRI of the vascular wall to assess the extent of atherosclerotic lesions. Vessels of particular clinical relevance are the carotid and coronary arteries. Currently, the preferred imaging sequence for these studies is a "black-blood" technique based on the double-inversion scheme to null the blood signal. A critical drawback of the black-blood technique, however, has been its single-slice nature, as there is only one point in time during the recovery of the blood magnetization from inversion at which the signal is completely nulled. Consequently, the total scan time can become prohibitively long, particularly when an imaging protocol includes several series of these datasets. In this work, a multiple-slice double-inversion technique is described that can reduce the scan time by a factor of two or more. It is demonstrated in vivo with examples from carotid and coronary arteries that one can acquire multiple slices with sufficient nulling of blood, following a single set of inversion pulses.
Insights
This study introduces a novel multiple-slice technique for black-blood MRI, significantly reducing scan times for vascular wall imaging. This advancement improves the assessment of atherosclerotic lesions in key arteries like the carotid and coronary.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Imaging
- Medical Physics
- Radiology
Background:
- High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the vascular wall is crucial for assessing atherosclerosis.
- Current "black-blood" MRI techniques, while effective, are limited to single-slice imaging due to blood signal nulling constraints.
- This single-slice limitation leads to prolonged scan times, especially for multi-slice protocols.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a multiple-slice double-inversion technique for vascular wall MRI.
- To significantly reduce the total scan time for acquiring multiple black-blood MRI slices.
- To maintain sufficient blood signal nulling across multiple slices for accurate lesion assessment.
Main Methods:
- Implementation of a novel multiple-slice double-inversion recovery scheme.
- Acquisition of in vivo MRI data from carotid and coronary arteries.
- Evaluation of blood signal nulling and image quality across multiple slices.
Main Results:
- The developed technique successfully acquires multiple slices with adequate blood signal nulling.
- Scan time reduction by a factor of two or more was achieved compared to conventional single-slice methods.
- In vivo demonstration in carotid and coronary arteries confirms the feasibility and efficacy of the method.
Conclusions:
- The multiple-slice double-inversion technique offers a substantial improvement for vascular wall MRI.
- This method enables faster, multi-slice imaging, enhancing the clinical utility of black-blood MRI for atherosclerosis.
- The technique provides a more efficient approach to assessing atherosclerotic lesions in clinically relevant arteries.
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