Abdominal imaging with a modular combination of spin and gradient echoes.

MR-CAT (combined acquisition technique), a modular hybrid imaging concept, was introduced recently. In this article it is demonstrated that the CAT principles can be applied to form a versatile combination of spin and gradient echoes for abdominal imaging. This CAT approach, which essentially integrates RARE and EPI modules in a sequential fashion, was used to implement a set of segmented and single-shot RARE/EPI-CAT imaging techniques. CAT was used in in vivo studies to perform high-resolution abdominal imaging in five healthy subjects. The results demonstrate the feasibility of abdominal imaging using the proposed CAT approach and the potential of this technique to reduce imaging time while preserving image quality. Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.