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Abstract #3996

Accelerated DWI Using Simultaneous Image Refocused EPI Optimized for Clinical Imaging

Vibhas Deshpande1, Sudhir Ramanna2,3, David Feinberg2,3

1Siemens Medical Solutions USA., Inc., San Francisco, CA, United States; 2Advanced MRI Technologies, Sebastopol, CA, United States; 3University of California, Berkeley, CA, United States


To reduce imaging times in clinical diffusion imaging, the simultaneous image refocusing (SIR) technique can be utilized to acquire multiple slices in a single readout, thereby shortening the total scan time. With 2 simultaneously refocused echoes, an approximate acceleration factor of 1.5 can be achieved as compared to non-SIR imaging. Results showed that the image quality using the SIR sequence was comparable to the conventional EPI, non-SIR sequence. In conclusion, SIR with 2 simultaneous slices can reduce scan time in diffusion weighted imaging by a factor of 1.5 with a compromise in spatial distortions and a small penalty in SNR.

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