Dynamic Diffusion Tensor Parameters in Muscle Tissue Using Single Voxel Multiple Echo Diffusion Tensor Acquisition Technique on a 3T Clinical Scanner

Steven Baete¹, Gene Cho¹, ², Eric E. Sigmund¹

Dynamic single voxel acquisition of diffusion tensor parameters is demonstrated in an anisotropic phantom and in in vivo skeletal muscle on a 3T clinical scanner. This method, Single Voxel Multiple Echo Diffusion Tensor Acquisition Technique (SV-MEDITATE) encodes multiple echoes generated by five RF-pulses with each a different diffusion weighting and strength. A single voxel is selected by orthogonal slice selective gradients. The resulting single voxel dynamic acquisition can be used to study the transient changes in diffusion tensor parameters, such as in muscle tissue following exercise, where traditional DTI methods lack temporal resolution.