Patent ID: 7602179

Claim:
A method for producing an image with a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system, the steps comprising: a) performing a preparatory pulse sequence with the MRI system in which an RF excitation pulse is produced and a time period (TI) elapses during which longitudinal spin magnetization recovers; b) performing an imaging pulse sequence with the MRI system when the TI elapses in which another RF excitation pulse is generated to produce transverse spin magnetization, in which a single phase encoding pulse is generated, and in which a series of gradient-recalled NMR signals are acquired; c) repeating step b) a plurality of times at each of a plurality of different phase encoding pulse values; and d) reconstructing an image using the acquired NMR signals by selectively combining a plurality of acquired NMR signals at each of the phase encoding pulse values, and Fourier transforming the combined NMR signals.