SENSE shimming (SSH): A fast approach for determining B(0) field inhomogeneities using sensitivity coding

The pursuit of ever higher field strengths and faster data acquisitions has led to the construction of coil arrays with high numbers of elements. With the sensitivity encoding (SENSE) technique, it has been shown that the sensitivity of those elements can be used for spatial image encoding. Here, a proof-of-principle is presented of a method that can be considered an extreme case of the SENSE approach, completely abstaining from using encoding gradients. The resulting sensitivity encoded free-induction decay (FID) data are then not used for imaging, but for determining B(0) field inhomogeneity distribution. The method has therefore been termed "SENSE shimming" (SSH). In phantom experiments the method's ability to detect inhomogeneities of up to the second order is demonstrated.