Fast NMR imaging by concentric sampling

The generation of multiple spin echoes by means of rapid gradient reversal has proved to be a promising approach for speeding up the data acquisition time in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging. In this paper, the authors apply the oscillating gradient technique to the line integral projection reconstruction (LIPR) method for two dimensional imaging. The current approach differs from the LIPR method in that the free induction decay (FID) signal is sampled around concentric circles instead of along radial lines as is the case with the LIPR method. The proposed technique combines the advantages of echo planar imaging (EPI) and the LIPR method and provides high speed artifact free images. Simulation results using the new method are presented. Various practical considerations are discussed