Abstract
MRI, particularly diffusion weighted imaging (DWI), plays vital roles in detection of the acute brain infarction$\^$1-4/ and others metabolic changes of biological tissues. In general, every molecule in biological tissues may diffuse and move randomly in three-dimensional space. However, in clinical diagnosis, only 2D-DWI is used. The authors have developed a new method for rapid three-dimensional DWI (3D-DWI). In this method, by refocusing of the magnetized spin with the applied gradient field, direction of which is opposite to phase encoding field. Magnetized spin of $^1$H is kept under the SSFP (steady state free precession)$\^$5-6/. Under SSFP, in addition of FID, spin echo and stimulated echo are also generated, so the acquired signal is increased. The signal intensity is increased depending on flip angle (FA) of magnetized spin. This phenomenon is confirmed by human brain and phantom studies. The performance of this method is quantitatively analyzed by using both of conventional spin echo DWI and 3D-DWI. From experimental results, three dimensional diffusion weighted images are obtained correctly for liquid phantoms (water, acetone and oil), diffusion coefficient is enhanced in each image. Therefore, this method will provide useful information for clinical diagnosis.