Zero-echo-time sequences in highly inhomogeneous fields

Zero-echo-time (ZTE) sequences have proven a powerful tool for MRI of ultrashort $T_2$ tissues, but they fail to produce useful images in the presence of strong field inhomogeneities (14 000 ppm). Here we seek a method to correct reconstruction artifacts from non-Cartesian acquisitions in highly inhomogeneous $B_0$ , where the standard double-shot gradient-echo approach to field mapping fails.

We present a technique based on magnetic field maps obtained from two geometric distortion-free point-wise (SPRITE) acquisitions. To this end, we employ three scanners with varying field homogeneities. These maps are used for model-based image reconstruction with iterative algebraic techniques (ART). For comparison, the same prior information is fed also to widely used Conjugate Phase (CP) algorithms.

Distortions and artifacts coming from severe $B_0$ inhomogeneities, at the level of the encoding gradient, are largely reverted by our method, as opposed to CP reconstructions. This holds even close to the limit where intra-voxel bandwidths (determined by $B_0$ inhomogeneities, up to 1.2 kHz) are comparable to the encoding inter-voxel bandwidth (determined by the gradient fields, 625 Hz in this work).

We have benchmarked the performance of a new method for ZTE imaging in highly inhomogeneous magnetic fields. For example, this can be exploited for dental imaging in affordable low-field MRI systems, and can be expanded for arbitrary pulse sequences and extreme magnet geometries, as in, for example, single-sided MRI.