Wavelet domain radiofrequency pulse design applied to magnetic resonance imaging

A new method for designing radiofrequency (RF) pulses with numerical optimization in the wavelet domain is presented. Numerical optimization may yield solutions that might otherwise have not been discovered with analytic techniques alone. Further, processing in the wavelet domain reduces the number of unknowns through compression properties inherent in wavelet transforms, providing a more tractable optimization problem. This algorithm is demonstrated with simultaneous multi-slice (SMS) spin echo refocusing pulses because reduced peak RF power is necessary for SMS diffusion imaging with high acceleration factors. An iterative, nonlinear, constrained numerical minimization algorithm was developed to generate an optimized RF pulse waveform. Wavelet domain coefficients were modulated while iteratively running a Bloch equation simulator to generate the intermediate slice profile of the net magnetization. The algorithm minimizes the L2-norm of the slice profile with additional terms to penali...