Fig. 1.
The interleaved 3D SW-FLAIR pulse sequences. The preparation interval TD1 allows T1 recovery prior to the FLAIR turbo-spin echo (FLAIR-TSE) acquisition. The GRE preparation module (GRE prep) during the TD2 period consists of dummy repetitions of the GRE sequence to help the magnetization reach its steady state. The susceptibility weighted EPI-accelerated GRE module (SW EPI-GRE) follows with Nacq TR periods in each shot. The respective repetition, inversion and echo times are denoted. Abbreviations: TR, repetition time; TE, echo time; Tshot, shot interval; TI, inversion time; NETL, eco train length of the TSE readout; Nprep, number of GRE preparation periods; Nacq, number of GRE acquisition periods.