Thibaut Capron1, Thomas Troalen1, Patrick J. Cozzone1, Monique Bernard1, Frank Kober1
1Centre de Rsonance Magntique Biologique et Mdicale (CRMBM), UMR CNRS N6612, Facult de Mdecine, Aix-Marseille Universit, Marseille, France
The FAIR-ASL method, applied to the heart, has key limitations due to the relaxation of the labeled magnetization during the experiment. We propose a new steadily-pulsed ASL experimental scheme that allows maintaining the tagged state, simultaneously with cine-imaging. We provide a theoretical description of such a scheme and show a close agreement with the behavior observed in a proof-of-concept experiment carried out in mice heart. The calculations thus allow for a reliable assessment of myocardial perfusion. Furthermore, theory predicts that the acquisition efficiency can be enhanced by a factor of 3 with respect to the widely used FAIR technique.