Abstract #1243

In Vivo 3D High Resolution Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC) Maps of Carotid Artery Atherosclerosis Plaques using 3D Singleshot Inner Volume Stimulated EPI (3D Ss-IV-STEPI) Technique

Seong-Eun Kim¹, Eun-Kee Jeong¹, Xianfeng Shi², Gerald S. Treiman³, Dennis L. Parker¹

¹Utah Center for Advanced Imaging Research, Department of Radiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States; ²Brain Research Institute, University of Utah; ³Department of Veterans Affairs, VASLCHCS, Salt Lake City, UT

To improve the sensitivity and specify of plaque component identification in ADC maps a high resolution 3D DWI technique is desirable. 3D ss-IV-STEPI technique has been developed to acquire a high resolution DWI of a localized region such as the carotid artery. This technique acquires the total k-space of a limited 3D volume after a single diffusion-preparation. Inner volume technique is used to reduce the time required for EPI readout of each complete k-space and reduce blurring and susceptibility artifacts. In this work we present the first in vivo high resolution 3D DWI of the atherosclerosis plaques using the 3D-ss-IV-STEPI.