Diffusion-Weighted Imaging of the Spine Using Readout-Segmented EPI and Local B0 Shimming

Diffusion-weighted (DW), readout-segmented EPI (rs-EPI) substantially reduces the susceptibility artifact seen with single-shot EPI. Previous studies have demonstrated how this improved image quality is beneficial for clinical, diffusion-weighted examinations of the spinal cord. However, this application is often limited by poor performance of chemical-shift-selective fat saturation at the base of the cervical spine due to the poor B0 field uniformity in this region. This study demonstrates how this problem can be overcome by using a prototype head-and-neck coil with integrated local B0 shim coils, making it possible to acquire robustly high-quality DW images with whole-spine coverage.

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