Graphical illustration of the steady-state spin paths for (a) bSSFP and (b) the proposed STFR method, for an on-resonance spin (not drawn to scale). In bSSFP (a), the T1 recovery and T2 decay that occurs between RF pulses is perfectly balanced between alternating RF shots. In STFR (b), the T1 and T2 decay that occurs after the tip-down pulse α, combined with the effect of the spoiler following the tip-up pulse β, act to bring the longitudinal magnetization back to the same starting point prior to each tip-down pulse.