Premium
Diffusion tensor imaging using single‐shot SENSE‐EPI
Author(s) -
Bammer Roland,
Auer Martin,
Keeling Stephen L.,
Augustin Michael,
Stables Lara A.,
Prokesch Rupert W.,
Stollberger Rudolf,
Moseley Michael E.,
Fazekas Franz
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
magnetic resonance in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.696
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1522-2594
pISSN - 0740-3194
DOI - 10.1002/mrm.10184
Subject(s) - diffusion mri , sense (electronics) , image quality , distortion (music) , tensor (intrinsic definition) , sensitivity (control systems) , fractional anisotropy , mathematics , computer science , algorithm , nuclear magnetic resonance , artificial intelligence , magnetic resonance imaging , physics , image (mathematics) , geometry , chemistry , medicine , amplifier , computer network , bandwidth (computing) , electronic engineering , engineering , radiology
SENSitivity Encoding (SENSE) greatly enhances the quality of diffusion‐weighted echo‐planar imaging (EPI) by reducing blurring and off‐resonance artifacts. Such improvement would also be desirable for diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), but measures derived from the diffusion tensor can be extremely sensitive to any kind of image distortion. Whether DTI is feasible in combination with SENSE has not yet been explored, and is the focus of this study. Using a SENSE‐reduction factor of 2, DTI scans in eight healthy volunteers were carried out with regular‐ and high‐resolution acquisition matrices. To further improve the stability of the SENSE reconstruction, a new coil‐sensitivity estimation technique based on variational calculus and the principles of matrix regularization was applied. With SENSE, maps of the trace of the diffusion tensor and of fractional anisotropy (FA) had improved spatial resolution and less geometric distortion. Overall, the geometric distortions were substantially removed and a significant resolution enhancement was achieved with almost the same scan time as regular EPI. DTI was even possible without the use of quadrature body coil (QBC) reference scans. Geometry‐factor‐related noise enhancement was only discernible in maps generated with higher‐resolution matrices. Error boundaries for residual fluctuations in SENSE reconstructions are discussed. Our results suggest that SENSE can be combined with DTI and may present an important adjunct for future neuroimaging applications of this technique. Magn Reson Med 48:128–136, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.