Patent ID: 7292039

Claim:
A system for acquiring a medical image of a region of interest, the system comprising: a control sequence unit configured to direct an RF (radiofrequency) coil to: apply a plurality of electromagnetic excitation pulses to the region of interest according to predetermined parameters, the plurality of electromagnetic excitation pulses being sufficient to generate first and second species within the region of interest such that a longitudinal magnetization of the first species is inverted, the first species having a longer longitudinal relaxation time constant (T 1 constant) than the second species; apply electromagnetic energy sufficient to de-phase transverse magnetizations of first and second species, the transverse magnetizations being oriented in a transverse direction with respect to an applied magnetic field; and a controller in communication with the control sequence unit, the controller configured to determine an expiration of a predetermined delay period after which the longitudinal magnetization of the first species reaches zero and a longitudinal magnetization of the second species is in steady-state.