O-Space Imaging: Tailoring Encoding Gradients to Coil Profiles for Highly Accelerated Imaging

Pelin Aksit Ciris¹, Jason Peter Stockmann¹, Lick-Kong Tam¹, Robert Todd Constable^1,2

O-space imaging is a novel MRI method which achieves very short imaging times by collecting highly independent information at each acquisition, through selecting encoding gradients that complement spatial localization provided by coils. Instead of conventional phase encoding, alternative encoding schemes with projection directions orthogonal to coil sensitivity profiles and each other, are employed. O-space imaging was evaluated using a radially varying gradient field and a circumferentially distributed coil array, with various noise levels, number of coils, and encoding schemes. Results identified superior encoding schemes, and indicate feasibility of high acceleration factors with accurate knowledge of the field.