Enhancing fluid signal in driven-equilibrium short-tau inversion-recovery (STIR) imaging with short TR times.

Fluid-sensitive Turbo-Spin-Echo (TSE) imaging in combination with Short-Tau Inversion Recovery for fat suppression (STIR) is commonly employed in musculoskeletal MRI. A Driven Equilibrium (DE) module following the imaging train can be used to reduce the Repetition Time (TR) without significant SNR loss. However, due to the STIR preparation, a conventional DE element rotates the fluid magnetization onto the negative z-axis instead of the positive z-axis, which delays longitudinal relaxation and attenuates the fluid signal. We implemented a modified DE module that increased fluid-signal intensity in STIR-TSE images of the spine.