ISMRM25 - The Power & Pitfalls of Balanced Steady-State Free Precession Contrast

ISMRM & ISMRT Annual Meeting & Exhibition • 10-15 May 2025 • Honolulu, Hawai'i

The Power & Pitfalls of Balanced Steady-State Free Precession Contrast

Weekend Course

ORGANIZERS: Mohammed Al-masni, Jessica Bastiaansen, Simon Robinson

Sunday, 11 May 2025

312

13:15 - 15:15

Moderators: Juan Hernández-Tamames & Peter Lally

Skill Level: Basic to Advanced

Session Number: WE-28

No CME/CE Credit

Session Number: WE-28

Overview
To explain and demonstrate the contrast that can be obtained with balanced steady state free precession. Describe how this contrast is exploited in different applications, organs and magnetic field strengths. Describe the phenomenon of banding artifacts and how they can be avoided. Explain the different signal representations of phase-cycled bSSFP, and their application for quantitative imaging (e.g. Planet, Miracle). Describe and explain the quantitative imaging applications beyond relaxometry (Magnetization Transfer, Diffusion, EPT, metabolic imaging, AI integration).

Target Audience
Researchers interested in the principles and applications of bSSFP contrast and quantitative imaging with phase-cycled bSSFP.

Educational Objectives
As a result of attending this course, participants should be able to:
• Explain and demonstrate the principles and sensitivities of balanced steady-state free precession. Provide a comparison with gradient and spin echo;
• Describe the applications of bSSFP in different organs (cardiac, lung, brain) and at different magnetic field strengths low and high fields;
• Describe the concept of passband and stopband and their applications (such as passband fMRI). Explain the mechanism of banding artifacts and how they can be avoided, illustrating different different banding-artifact removal strategies;
• Explain different signal representations of phase-cycled bssp and how they can be used for multiparametric mapping with PC-bSSFP (T1, T2, PD, B0), and their applications; and
• Describe quantitative imaging using phase-cycled bSSFP beyond conventional T1 and T2 mapping (such as magnetization transfer, diffusion, EPT, the potential use of asymmetries).

13:15		The Principle of bSSFP Contrast: Don’t Spoil the Signal Kübra Keskin
13:45		Avoiding the Dark Side View Presentation Video Michael Hoff Impact: bSSFP dark banding can be a nuisance. Understanding how signal is modulated is key to developing techniques to mitigate associated image artifact; this talk will outline both the bSSFP signal modulation mechanism and methods of mitigating banding artifacts.
14:15		Miraculous Ellipses: From Dark Bands to Insightful Maps Anne Slawig
14:45		Quantitative Imaging with Phase-Cycled bSSFP: Beyond the Obvious Rui Pedro Azeredo Gomes Teixeira