What would the scan time be in a 3D volume acquisition with TR 24 ms, TE 7 ms, Flip Angle 15°, FOV 20cm, 2mm slice thickness, 76 slices, 176 x 256 matrix, 1 NEX?

To determine the scan time for a 3D volume acquisition, we first need to understand how to calculate the time it takes for one complete acquisition. The key variables in this calculation are the repetition time (TR), echo time (TE), flip angle, field of view (FOV), slice thickness, number of slices, matrix size, and number of excitations (NEX).

For a 3D volume acquisition, the total scan time can be approximated with the formula:

Total Scan Time = Number of Slices x TR x NEX

In this scenario:

• Number of slices = 76

• TR = 24 ms (which is 0.024 seconds)

• NEX = 1

Using the formula:

Total Scan Time = 76 slices x 0.024 seconds x 1 = 1.824 seconds.

This is the time it would take to acquire all slices in a single NEX. However, to convert this value into a more usable format, we must recognize that this is the time per slice multiplied by the number of slices.

The total time calculated thus far (1.824 seconds) is still considerably short. In some cases, the TR value may need to account for additional overhead due