A fast spin echo technique with circular sampling

This paper presents a fast spin echo (FSE) imaging method that employs circular sampling of Jr‐space. The technique has been implemented on a 2 Tesla imaging system and validated on both phantoms and living animals. Experimental studies have shown that circular sampling can produce artifact‐free FSE images without the need of phase correction. Although not fully explored, preliminary results also show that circular sampling may have advantages over the conventional rectilinear FSE in signal‐to‐noise ratio and imaging efficiency. A major disadvantage is the increased sensitivity to off‐resonance effects. The authors expect that the FSE technique with circular sampling will find its applications in magnetic resonance microscopy, neuro‐functional imaging, and real‐time dynamic studies.