Multiple‐echo steady‐state (MESS): Extending DESS for joint T(2) mapping and chemical‐shift corrected water‐fat separation

PURPOSE: To extend the double echo steady‐state (DESS) sequence to enable chemical‐shift corrected water‐fat separation. METHODS: This study proposes multiple‐echo steady‐state (MESS), a sequence that modifies the readouts of the DESS sequence to acquire two echoes each with bipolar readout gradients with higher readout bandwidth. This enables water‐fat separation and eliminates the need for water‐selective excitation that is often used in combination with DESS, without increasing scan time. An iterative fitting approach was used to perform joint chemical‐shift corrected water‐fat separation and T(2) estimation on all four MESS echoes simultaneously. MESS and water‐selective DESS images were acquired for five volunteers, and were compared qualitatively as well as quantitatively on cartilage T(2) and thickness measurements. Signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) and T(2) quantification were evaluated numerically using pseudo‐replications of the acquisition. RESULTS: The water‐fat separation provided by MESS was robust and with quality comparable to water‐selective DESS. MESS T(2) estimation was similar to DESS, albeit with slightly higher variability. Noise analysis showed that SNR in MESS was comparable to DESS on average, but did exhibit local variations caused by uncertainty in the water‐fat separation. CONCLUSION: In the same acquisition time as DESS, MESS provides water‐fat separation with comparable SNR in the reconstructed water and fat images. By providing additional image contrasts in addition to the water‐selective DESS images, MESS provides a promising alternative to DESS.