Simulated and experimental bSSFP signal responses. (A, B) Simulations of a α = 60° 6.8 ms sinc pulse (TBW = 2) with a 15.3 ms TR. Part A shows the frequency response on-resonance, i.e. when the transmit frequency is set to pyruvate, and part B shows the frequency response 390 Hz off-resonance, i.e. at the lactate resonance. Part B shows negligible excitation 390 ± 25 Hz off-resonance for this pulse width, TBW, and TR, indicating no contamination of the pyruvate image with lactate signal (and vice-versa when the transmit frequency is set to lactate due to the symmetric frequency response). (C, D) Parts C and D show the thermal phantom acquisition with the aforementioned pulse and TR, with the on-resonance and off-resonance responses matching the simulations in parts A and B.