Meeting Banner
Abstract #2061

Reduced Image Distortions in FMRI Using Accelerated EPIK Sequence at 3T

Seong Dae Yun1, Martina Reske1, Kaveh Vahedipour1, Tracy Warbrick1, N. Jon Shah1, 2

1Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine - 4, Forschungszentrum Jlich, Jlich, Germany; 2JARA - Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany


EPI is in widespread use in MR studies acquiring time series data due to its capability of achieving a relatively high temporal resolution. However, the fact that EPI acquires echoes with evolving time delays makes it prone to severe image distortions. To overcome this issue, EPIK (EPI with Keyhole) accelerated using GRAPPA was tested at 3T. This EPIK variant offers a higher temporal resolution and robustness against field inhomogeneities when compared to interleaved EPI and single-shot EPI, respectively. The performance of the method was validated with human functional MRI measurements as well as MRI simulation results using JEMRIS.