Simultaneous Multi-Slice (SMS) Cardiac CINE using embedded Hadamard-encoded reference data at 7 Tesla

International audienceTo perform high-resolution cardiac function MRI, thin-slice Cine MRI at 7T is accelerated using Simultaneous Multi-Slice (SMS) technique. Additionally, Hadamard encoding strategy along the temporal dimension is superimposed on the CAIPIRINHA phase shift. The Hadamard-decoded data serve as embedded reference for SMS image reconstruction. Additional in-plane L1-SPIRiT reconstruction allows for limited noise amplification. Results show excellent slice separation, satisfactory SNR and CNR for assessment of cardiac function. However, SAR restrictions impose a lower flip angle for SMS acquisitions that result in poorer blood-to-myocardium contrast