Abstract #0174

Diffusion-Weighted Inner-Field-of-View EPI using 2D-Selective RF Excitations with a Tilted Excitation Plane

Jrgen Finsterbusch^1,2

¹Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; ²Neuroimage Nord, University Medical Centers Hamburg-Kiel-Lbeck, Hamburg-Kiel-Lbeck, Germany

Inner-field-of-view EPI based on 2D-selective RF excitations (2DRF) has been shown to be a promising tool for high-resolution diffusion-weighted imaging, e.g. in the spinal cord. In this study, it is shown that tilting the excitation plane to position the side excitations in the dead corner between the slice stack to acquire and the current image section represents a simple and robust method to suppress the unwanted signal contributions. This approach can reduce the 2DRF pulse durations and the echo time considerably and, thus, increase the SNR significantly as is demonstrated in the human spinal cord in vivo.