Nonlinear excitation profiles for three-dimensional inflow MR angiography

An RF excitation pulse for three-dimensional (3D) time-of-flight (TOP) MR angiography (MRA) with a nonlinear excitation profile was numerically calculated under the condition of uniform vessel signal across the excitation volume (slab), and the superiority of the optform pulse as compared with conventional RF pulses and TONE pulses was demonstrated. For this purpose we acquired MRA of the lower leg and of the carotid and vertebral arteries in a 30-year-old healthy volunteer. Although the flow velocity ranges in these two anatomic locations are different by about a factor of 10, in both cases the corresponding optform pulse provided the best signal homogeneity at the highest level.