Fast low angle shot magnetic resonance imaging (FLASH MRI) is a particular sequence of magnetic resonance imaging. It is a gradient echo sequence which combines a low-flip angle radio-frequency excitation of the nuclear magnetic resonance signal (recorded as a spatially encoded gradient echo) with a short repetition time. It is the generic form of steady-state free precession imaging. Different manufacturers of MRI equipment use different names for this experiment. Siemens uses the name FLASH, General Electric used the name SPGR (Spoiled Gradient Echo), and Philips uses the name CE-FFE-T1 (Contrast-Enhanced Fast Field Echo) or T1-FFE. Depending on the desired contrast, the generic FLASH technique provides spoiled versions that destroy transverse coherences and yield T1 contrast as well as refocused versions (constant phase per repetition) and fully balanced versions (zero phase per repetition) that incorporate transverse coherences into the steady-state signal and offer T1/T2 contrast. Applications include: cross-sectional images with acquisition times of a few seconds enable MRI studies of the thorax and abdomen within a single breathhold, dynamic acquisitions synchronized to the electrocardiogram generate movies of the beating heart, sequential acquisitions monitor physiological processes such as the differential uptake of contrast media into body tissues, three-dimensional acquisitions visualize complex anatomic structures (brain, joints) at unprecedented high spatial resolution in all three dimensions and along arbitrary view directions, and Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) yields three-dimensional representations of the vasculature. Physical basis The physical basis of MRI is the spatial encoding of the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signal obtainable from water protons (i.e. hydrogen nuclei) in biologic tissue. In terms of MRI, signals with different spatial encodings that are required for the reconstruction of a full image need to be acquired by generating multiple signals – usually in a repetitive way using multiple radio-frequency excitations. The generic FLASH technique emerges as a gradient echo sequence which combines a low-flip angle radio-frequency excitation of the NMR signal (recorded as a spatially encoded gradient echo) with a rapid repetition of the basic sequence. The repetition time is usually much shorter than the typical T1 relaxation time of the protons in biologic tissue. Only the combination of (i) a low-flip angle excitation which leaves unused longitudinal magnetization for an immediate next excitation with (ii) the acquisition of a gradient echo which does not need a further radio-frequency pulse that would affect the residual longitudinal magnetization, allows for the rapid repetition of the basic sequence interval