Fast MR imaging: technical strategies.

Abstract

Since the introduction of MR imaging for medical use in the early 1980s, there has been a continuous trend toward reduction in scan times. Whereas it took over 24 hr to acquire and display the earliest MR images [1], scan times of well under a second are now feasible. The trend toward shorter scan times is based on a need to reduce motion-related artifacts, to provide more comprehensive studies in a reasonable examination time (such as those with multiple pulse sequences, multiple planes, or contrast media), or to increase patient throughput to reduce per-patient examination costs.