20      Multislice Imaging and

Concatenations

The time needed to excite and spatially

encode one slice is referred to as the slice
loop time (Fig. 20.1). The repetition time
(TR) is defined as the time between two
excitation pulses for the same slice and
is a major contrast-dictating parameter
in MRI. On completion of the encoding of
a given slice, there is usually time prior
to the next excitation pulse to excite and
encode other slices. In this approach,
Fig. 20.1 called multislice imaging, the maximum
number of slices is given by the repeti-
tion time divided by the slice loop time.
If more slices are needed to cover the anatomic region than allowed by the
­selected TR, there are many options, with three subsequently discussed. The user can
increase TR (which changes tissue contrast and prolongs scan time), use faster gradi-
ents (see Chapter 109), or employ concatenations. In the latter approach, the number
of slices is evenly split into two or more sets, specified by the number of concatena-
tions (Fig. 20.2). In doing so, TR remains unchanged. However, scan time is directly
proportional to the number of concatenations. For example, if two concatenations are
chosen, scan time is doubled. Choosing to employ concatenations can be very time
inefficient, in particular if only a small number of additional slices are needed. Also,
when employing concatenations, each set of slices (each concatenation) is acquired
sequentially in time. The degree of patient motion, and the actual position of the
­patient, can thus be different between the sets of slices acquired with each concatena-
tion. When the ­images are viewed in a continuous loop, sorted anatomically (such as
on PACS), this ­effect is often observed. In the worst-case scenario, this can lead to a
small lesion being missed, if there is substantial patient motion between the different
concatenations.

Fig. 20.2

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Fig. 20.3a presents the setup for the acquisition of a T1-weighted sagittal
scan ­sequence of the brain. For the given TR a maximum number of 19 slices could
be ­acquired, thus not covering the entire brain. By applying two concatenations
(Fig.  20.3b), the number of slices can be adjusted to 30 allowing for appropriate
­coverage of the brain for the given TR. Note, however, that the maximum number
of slices that could be achieved applying two concatenations in this instance was
38 (Fig.  20.3c). This exceeds by far the borders of the brain and demonstrates that
­applying concatenations, although easy to do, may not be the most time efficient way
to achieve the desired number of images.

a b c

Fig. 20.3

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