Phased array ghost elimination (PAGE) for segmented SSFP imaging with interrupted steady-state

Steady-state free precession (SSFP) has recently proven to be valuable for cardiac imaging due to its high signal-to-noise ratio and blood-myocardium contrast. Data acquired using ECG- triggered, segmented sequences during the approach to steady-state, or return to steady-state after interruption, may have ghost artifacts due to periodic k-space distortion. Schemes involving several preparatory RF pulses have been proposed to restore steady-state, but these consume imaging time during early systole. Alternatively, the phased-array ghost elimination (PAGE) method may be used to remove ghost artifacts from the first several frames. PAGE was demonstrated for cardiac cine SSFP imaging with interrupted steady-state using a simple alpha/2 magnetization preparation and storage scheme and a spatial tagging preparation.