A robust multi-shot scan strategy for high-resolution diffusion weighted MRI enabled by multiplexed sensitivity-encoding (MUSE)

By Nankuei Chen, A. Guidon, Hing-Chiu Chang, A. Song. NeuroImage, 2013

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Diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) data have been mostly acquired with single-shot echo-planar imaging (EPI) to minimize motion induced artifacts. The spatial resolution, however, is inherently limited in single-shot EPI, even when the parallel imaging (usually at an acceleration factor of 2) is incorporated. Multi-shot acquisition strategies could potentially achieve higher spatial resolution and fidelity, but they are generally susceptible to motion-induced phase errors among excitations that are exacerbated by diffusion sensitizing gradients, rendering the reconstructed images unusable. It has been shown that shot-to-shot phase variations may be corrected using navigator echoes, but at the cost of imaging throughput. To address these challenges, a novel and robust multi-shot DWI technique, termed multiplexed sensitivity-encoding (MUSE), is developed here to reliably and inherently correct nonlinear shot-to-shot phase variations without the use of navigator echoes. The performance of the MUSE technique is confirmed experimentally in healthy adult volunteers on 3 Tesla MRI systems. This newly developed technique should prove highly valuable for mapping brain structures and connectivities at high spatial resolution for neuroscience studies.

Subfields: Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/a8657fda0cbb1b7857b5829116f270819a8d7586