A novel fast and quiet method of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is introduced which
creates new opportunities for imaging in medicine and materials science. The method is
called SWIFT, sweep imaging with Fourier transformation. In SWIFT, time-domain signals
are acquired in a time-shared manner during a swept radiofrequency excitation of the
nuclear spins. With negligible time between excitation and signal acquisition, new
possibilities exist for imaging objects consisting of spins with extremely fast transverse …