Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Skeletal Muscle Disease
Published on: December 18, 2016
Optimized spectrally selective steady-state free precession sequences for cartilage imaging at ultra-high fields
O Bieri1, T C Mamisch, S Trattnig
1MR Physics, Department of Medical Radiology, University of Basel, Petersgraben 4, 4031 Basel, Switzerland. oliver.bieri@unibas.ch
Object:
Fat suppressed 3D steady-state free precession (SSFP) sequences are of special interest in cartilage imaging due to their short repetition time in combination with high signal-to-noise ratio. At low-to-high fields (1.5-3.0 T), spectral spatial (spsp) radio frequency (RF) pulses perform superiorly over conventional saturation of the fat signal (FATSAT pulses). However, ultra-high fields (7.0 T and more) may offer alternative fat suppression techniques as a result of the increased chemical shift.
Materials And Methods:
Application of a single, frequency selective, RF pulse is compared to spsp excitation for water (or fat) selective imaging at 7.0 T.
Results:
For SSFP, application of a single frequency selective RF pulse for selective water or fat excitation performs beneficially over the commonly applied spsp RF pulses. In addition to the overall improved fat suppression, the application of single RF pulses leads to decreased power depositions, still representing one of the major restrictions in the design and application of many pulse sequences at ultra-high fields.
Conclusion:
The ease of applicability and implementation of single frequency selective RF pulses at ultra-high-fields might be of great benefit for a vast number of applications where fat suppression is desirable or fat-water separation is needed for quantification purposes.
Related Concept Videos
NMR Spectrometers: Radiofrequency Pulses and Pulse Sequences
NMR Spectrometers: Resolution and Error Correction
¹³C NMR: Distortionless Enhancement by Polarization Transfer (DEPT)
NMR Spectrometers: Overview
2D NMR: Heteronuclear Single-Quantum Correlation Spectroscopy (HSQC)
¹H NMR: Interpreting Distorted and Overlapping Signals
As Δν decreases and the signals move closer, the doublets appear increasingly distorted. The intensities of the inner lines increase at the cost of those of the outer lines as the signals are slanted or...
