Instant images of the body by magnetic resonance

Proton magnetic resonance (MR) body images of the normal, adult human which have total scan times of typically only 40 ms per image are presented. There is no loss of spatial or contrast resolution due to motional blurring or ghosting; rather, movie loops of multiple 40-ms images directly demonstrate normal respiratory and peristaltic motion. Manifestation of "traditional" relaxation time contrast is demonstrated for a variety of spin echo (TE) and image repetition (TR) times. The images, obtained at 2.0 T on a new high-speed MR system, have a signal-to-noise ratio for muscle of approximately 30:1 (TE = 30 ms) for a 4.7-mm slice thickness (voxel size = 0.08 cm3). In a study presented as an example, 140 images covering the body from diaphragm to pelvis were all obtained within approximately 10 min. This method may help improve the efficacy of MR body imaging in general, and may play a role in applications which require high temporal resolution.