NMR VENOGRAPHY USING THE SUSCEPTIBILITY EFFECT PRODUCED BY DEOXYHEMOGLOBIN

A new angiography technique using the susceptibility effect is proposed. Blood containing deoxyhemoglobin is more paramagnetic than surrounding tissue and thereby produces a susceptibility effect at blood‐tissue interfaces. By use of a specially tailored RF pulse, signals from normal tissues are suppressed while the signals from blood interfaces, where strong susceptibility‐induced fields are created, are enhanced. The design and characteristic behavior of the tailored RF pulse are discussed and experimental results obtained using both a phantom and a human volunteer with a 2.0‐T whole‐body NMR system are also presented.© 1992 Academic Press,Inc. Copyright © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc., A Wiley Company