Abstract
Difficulties in obtaining diffusion-weighted images of acceptable quality using conventional hardware and in a reasonable time have hindered the clinical application of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI), Diffusion-weighted fast spin-echo (FSE) sequences offer the possibility of fast DWI on standard hardware without the susceptibility problems associated with echoplanar imaging. However, motion in the presence of diffusion-sensitizing gradients can prevent fulfilment of the Meiboom Gill phase condition, leading to destructive interference between echo components and consequent signal losses. A recently proposed single-shot FSE sequence employed split-echo acquisition to address this problem. However, in a segmented FSE sequence, phase errors differ between successive echo trains, causing "ghosting" in the diffusion-weighted images that are not eliminated by split-echo acquistion alone. A DWI technique is presented that combines split-echo acquisition with navigator echo phase correction in a segmented FSE sequence. It is shown to be suitable for diffusion measurements in vivo using standard hardware. (C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 734-742 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Magnetic Resonance in Medicine |
Volume | 41 |
Publication status | Published - 1999 |
Keywords
- MRI
- fast spin-echo
- diffusion
- navigator echo
- FAST SPIN-ECHO
- HUMAN BRAIN
- STIMULATED ECHOES
- SELF-DIFFUSION
- SYSTEM
- COEFFICIENTS
- ARTIFACTS
- SEQUENCES
- MOTION
- IMAGES