Comparison of magnetization transfer contrast of conventional and simultaneous multislice turbo spin echo acquisitions focusing on excitation time interval

Abstract

PurposeImage contrast differs between conventional multislice turbo spin echo (conventional TSE) and multiband turbo spin echo (SMS-TSE). Difference in time interval between excitations for adjacent slices (SETI) might cause this difference. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of SETI on MT effect for conventional TSE and compare conventional TSE with SMS-TSE in this respect.Materials and methodsThree different agar concentration phantoms were scanned with conventional TSE by adjusting SETI and TR. Signal change for different SETI was evaluated using Pearson’s correlation analysis. SMS-TSE was acquired by changing TR similarly. Three human volunteers were scanned with similar settings to evaluate reproducibility of the phantom results in human brain.ResultsIn conventional TSE, shorter SETI induced larger signal reduction. Longer TR and higher agar concentration emphasized this characteristic. Significant linear correlation (P\u2009<\u20090.05) was found in the major cases. The SMS-TSE signal intensity in each TR and phantom was smaller than the assumable levels in conventional TSE when the slices were simultaneously excited. Similar characteristic was observed in human brain.ConclusionShorter SETI results in larger MT effect in conventional TSE. The contrast change in SMS-TSE was larger than the supposable level from simultaneous excitation, which needs consideration in clinics.