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Abstract #4003

Diffusion-Weighted Balanced SSFP (DW-BSSFP): A New Approach to Diffusion Tensor Imaging

Matthew M. Cheung1,2, Jerry S. Cheung1,2, Li Xiao1,2, April M. Chow1,2, Kannie W. Chan1,2, Ed X. Wu1,2

1Laboratory of Biomedical Imaging and Signal Processing, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China; 2Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China


Although DW-EPI offers high acquisition speed, it generally suffers from low spatial resolution and geometric distortion. SSFP is a possible alternative to perform diffusion imaging with higher resolution and with no distortion artifacts that is inherent in EPI. In this study, we modified the balanced SSFP sequence by adding a pair of bipolar diffusion sensitizing gradients. The diffusion effect in bSSFP sequence with a pair of bipolar diffusion gradients was formulated and DW-bSSFP experiment was performed on in vivo rat brain at 7T.

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