High-resolution diffusion weighted imaging enabled by multiplexed sensitivity-encoded imaging with inherent phase correction (MUSIC) method
Value Proposition
Diffusion MRI has become the imaging modality of choice in the management of acute brain ischemia. The powerful technique has also been used in brain function studies and in diagnosis of brain and spinal cord tumors. The imaging data is commonly acquired using single-shot pulse sequences to minimize motion-amplified artifacts. However, single-shot diffusion MRI suffers from limited spatial resolution. To enable higher spatial resolution required in studies of detailed brain microstructures and related functions, multi-shot acquisition strategies are used. However, multi-shot diffusion-weighted imaging is susceptible to motion-induced phase errors that can be mitigated using navigator echoes, but at the expense of imaging throughput. Thus, there is a need to develop distortion-free, high-resolution diffusion-weighted imaging techniques.
Technology
Researchers at Duke have developed a technique to enable a high-resolution diffusion weighted imaging. A multiplexed sensitivity-encoded imaging with inherent phase correction (MUSIC) technique can correct shot-to-shot phase inconsistencies due to physiological motions or magnetic field drifting without relying on any navigator signal. The method has higher imaging throughput and better tolerance to phase variations due to local and nonlinear motions. The performance of MUSIC technique was confirmed experimentally in healthy adult volunteers. Its ability to achieve high spatial resolution, high spatial fidelity, and minimal motion-induced phase errors has broad applications in investigations of detailed brain microstructures and functions.
Advantages
- Can be broadly applied to improve spatial resolution in neuroimaging
- Produces multi-shot diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging data with higher spatial resolution and fidelity, as compared with single-shot acquisition
- Can produce diffusion weighted magnetic resonance images at higher signal-to-noise ratio
- Requires neither navigator not reference echoes