Abstract #3519

New Horizons in Diffusion Weighted Imaging: A Comprehensive Evaluation of a Fast Spin Echo DWI Sequence with Radial K-Space Sampling at 3T Using a 32-Channel Head Coil in Acute Brain Ischemia.

Ulrike Irmgard Attenberger¹, Val M. Runge², K D. Williams², Alto Stemmer³, Henrik J. Michaely⁴, Stefan O. Schoenberg⁴, Maximilian F. Reiser¹, Bernd J. Wintersperger¹

¹Department of Clinical Radiology, Munich University Hospitals - Grosshadern, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany; ²Department of Radiology, Scott & White Clinic and Hospital, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Temple, TX, USA; ³Siemens Medical Solutions, Erlangen, Germany; ⁴Department of Clinical Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University Medical Center Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany

Diffusion weighted MR imaging became widely accepted as reliable method for the diagnosis of brain ischemia early after stroke onset. Single-shot spin echo echoplanar imaging is most commonly used for acquisition of diffusion weighted scans but relatively low resolution, low SNR and bulk susceptibility artifacts decrease their diagnostic value. A promising new scan technique (`BLADE` DWI) is now available for diffusion imaging using a fast spin echo sequence (FSE) with radial k-space sampling that could help overcome susceptibility artifacts. A FSE BLADE diffusion weighted imaging was evaluated at 3 T in combination with a 32-channel head coil in this study.