Cardiac real-time imaging using SENSE

Sensitivity encoding is used to improve the performance of real-time MRI. T he encoding efficiency of single-shot and segmented echo-planar imaging is tripled by means of a 6-element receiver coil array. The feasibility of thi s approach is verified for double oblique cardiac real-time imaging of huma n subjects at rest as well asunder physiological stress. Sample images are presented with scan times per image down to 13 msec at a spatial resolution of 4.1 mm, and 27 msec at a resolution of 2.6 mm. Moreover, multiple slice real-time imaging is demonstrated at a rate of 38 double-frames per second . (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.