Figure 4

Triple IR Preparation scheme for Oedema imaging. Triple inversion recovery TSE (Black-Blood turboSTIR) pulse sequence commonly used for oedema imaging. In (a) the pulse sequence timing is shown together with z-magnetisation curves. The preparation scheme consists of the two 180° pulses for the black blood preparation, followed by a third slice-selective 180° pulse to provide the STIR contrast. The sequence has two inversion times, TI_blood and TI_fat. TI_fat has the same value as that used for fat suppression as in the STIR sequence (approx 160 milliseconds). Calculation of the value for TI_blood depends on the heart rate, and the effective TR (number of heart beats per repetition). The z-magnetisation curve shown for blood assumes it washes into the slice after the third 180° pulse has been applied. The image in (b) is acquired in the short axis plane using the black-blood turbo STIR technique. The intrinsic fluid weighting of the STIR technique has been further enhanced by selecting a long TE value (100 ms) to introduce T2-weighting (the technique is sometimes referred to as T2-weighted STIR). Myocardial oedema can be seen as an area of increased signal (arrow). (Image courtesy of Darach O h-lci and Daniel Messroghli, Deutsches Herzzentrum, Berlin).