The influence of stimulated echoes on contrast in fast spin-echo imaging

Tissue contrast obtained using fast spin-echo (FSE) and conventional spin-echo (SE) sequences is not identical and a number of mechanisms are thought to contribute to these contrast differences. The effect of stimulated echoes has previously been apparently ruled out as a contributing mechanism. Signal-to-noise ratios of single-slice matched FSE and conventional SE sequences were compared in aqueous solutions of CuSO4, Cr2(SO4)3 and MnSO4 with various T1 and T2 values. Enhancement of the FSE signal was observed in short T2 solutions and the effect was greater in samples where the T1 to T2 ratio was high. Reducing the refocusing pulse flip angle to increase the contribution from stimulated echoes also resulted in slightly increased enhancement. Experimental results were verified by computer simulations. Our results show that stimulated echoes do contribute to the contrast differences between FSE and conventional SE images and may be significant in the imaging of brain hemorrhage.