A study of fat suppression using spectrally selected inversion recovery pulse

A basic investigation was carried out regarding the spectrally selected inversion recovery pulse (Spec IR) that affects fat suppression using the fat selective inversion pulse. As this has been used for MR angiography (MRA), we are reporting on it. Spec IR is able to affect fat suppression without a significant increase in repetition time (TR) as inversion pulses are used for each change in phase encoding. Inversion time (TI) and flip angle (FA) settings were important for the fat suppression effects. Inversion pulses are only used for each change in phase encoding, so if the number of slices is increased (number of slice encodings is increased), fat suppression decreases. This problem could be solved by reducing the number of slices without reducing spatial resolution through the use of zero-filled interpolation (ZIP) in the slice direction. In MRA that uses Spec IR, the extraction of small vessels that may be concealed in fat within the abdominal arteries and pelvic arteries has been improved, which is an indication that fat is suppressed. (author)