Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 19, 2026

Author Spotlight: Development of a Novel Finite Element Analysis Model for Improved Orthognathic Surgical Techniques
Published on: October 20, 2023
Asymmetries of the balanced SSFP profile. Part I: theory and observation
1Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. karla@fmrib.ox.ac.uk
Abstract:
The signal in balanced steady-state free precession has a strong sensitivity to off-resonance, which is typically described in terms of a signal "profile" over a range of frequencies. This profile has a well-known form for homogeneous media with a single T(1), T(2), and resonance frequency, which is symmetric about the on-resonance frequency. However, a straightforward extension to this established signal model predicts that the profile may become asymmetric in the presence of inhomogeneous frequency content, as would be expected to happen in tissue due to microstructural boundaries, compartments, and chemical shift. The presence of asymmetries in the balanced steady-state free precession profile may therefore provide a marker of tissue integrity. This manuscript describes the theory behind balanced steady-state free precession asymmetries, a method for detecting these effects, and the first measurements of balanced steady-state free precession asymmetries in tissue. Asymmetries are found in gray matter, white matter, and muscle, with excellent reproducibility. A companion paper considers the large white matter asymmetries in more detail.
Related Concept Videos
Unsymmetric Loading of Thin-Walled Members
The concept of the shear center is crucial in countering the...
Eccentric Axial Loading in a Plane of Symmetry
Beams with Unsymmetric Loadings
The first moment-area theorem determines the slope at any point on the beam. This theorem indicates that the change in slope between two points on a beam...
Symmetric Member in Bending
General Case of Eccentric Axial Loading
Consider a member subjected to equal and opposite forces that are applied along a line that does not coincide with the member's neutral axis. In unsymmetrical...
Properties of Fourier series II
A function f(t) is...

