Schematic of the implemented T2IR-FSE sequence for flow-insensitive BB imaging of the vessel wall. The T2IR magnetization preparation combines two commonly used contrast-enhancing techniques: T2 preparation (consisting of 90x tip-down, 180y refocusing, and −90x tip-up RF pulses) for T2 contrast, and inversion recovery (consisting of a 180x inversion pulse) for T1 contrast. Note that the −90x tip-up of the T2 preparation and the 180x inversion pulse can be conveniently combined into a single 90x pulse as shown. Given repetition time TR = T2PREP + TI + TFSE + TD, the timing parameters (T2PREP, TI and TD) are chosen to null the blood signal while maximizing the wall signal at the beginning of the FSE acquisition (see text for details). Note that all RF pulses are spatially non-selective and correspondingly the T2IR technique can provide global suppression of blood regardless of its movement, a major advantage over the conventional DIR technique.