Blake E. Dewey1, 2, Ha-Kyu Jeong2, Jane A.T. Hirtle2, 3, Adam W. Anderson2, 4, John C. Gore2, 5, Seth A. Smith2, 5
1Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States; 2Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States; 3Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States; 4Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States; 5Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
In the human cervical spinal cord, cardiac motion and field inhomogeneities challenge EPI-based DTI acquisitions. Here, we compare the impact of not only gating on single-shot (SSH), but also present a gated/non-gated comparison of a novel 2D navigated multi-shot (MSH) EPI DTI acquisition. Tractography from only one seed ROI 2D DTI-derived index maps and whole cord mean SD comparisons are evaluated. The impact of gating resulted in greater robustness of the PEV and extent of tractography, yet 2D navigated MSH DTI showed largely minimized SSH distortion. Reproducibility analysis is necessary to clarify the accuracy of the derived metrics.