Circular sampling: Perspective of a time-saving scanning procedure

A time-saving pulse sequence that requires relatively low gradients and slow rise time is suggested herein. With this pulse sequence the entire k domain is sampled along a set of concentric circles using only 50% of the number of pulses required by the standard line sampling technique (2DFT). This can result in saving about half the total scanning time in gated cardiac imaging. The sampling configuration in the k domain is identical to MR projection reconstruction, with the advantage that a considerably smaller number of excitations is required. Furthermore, computer simulations indicate that the proposed method is also advantageous over the "half-Fourier" method, as it provides better SNR for equal acquisition time (0.83 vs. 0.707 of the 2DFT SNR respectively.