Diffusion Weighted Turbo-STEAM ZOOM Imaging of the Lumbar Spine

Patrick Hiepe¹, Karl-Heinz Herrmann², Christian Ros², Jrgen R. Reichenbach²

So far, most clinical DWI applications have relied on EPI although DWI EPI is limited by susceptibility artifacts. STEAM MRI with robust turbo-FLASH readout is a fast imaging technique with subsecond measurement times. This robustness is traded against SNR by using a less signal efficient acquisition technique. To achieve maximum efficiency of the turbo-STEAM sequences a reduced number of PE lines is necessary. An effective way is to utilize the ZOOM imaging technique, which limits the excited FOV in the PE direction to include only the ROI. This can be used to measure various regions of the body with a narrow FOV, e.g. lumbar spine, without the occurrence of foldover or aliasing artifacts. In comparison with EPI, DW ZOOM single-shot STEAM MRI of the lumbar spine exhibits a reduced SNR, but avoids regional signal losses and geometric distortions. Furthermore, no fat suppression is necessary. Our case report indicates that the DW ZOOM turbo-STEAM MRI technique appears to be a good alternative to the standard DW EPI.