Abstract #1307

Point Spread Function Mapping for Distortion Correction of Spinal Cord Diffusion Weighted MRI

Henrik Lundell^1,2, Julien Cohen-Adad^3,4

¹Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark; ²Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; ³INSERM, Pitie Salpetriere Hospital, Univ Paris 6, Paris, France; ⁴GRSNC, Physiology department, Univ Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada

Susceptibility related artifacts is one of the main problems in spinal cord DWMRI. We propose the use of Point Spread Function (PSF) mapping for retrospective correction of these artifacts in single shot diffusion weighted EPI of the human cervical spinal cord. Although further improvements are needed, this method enables the reduction of short scale artifacts around the intervertebral disks and proviedes better consistency of fiber tractography.