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Abstract #0483

Correcting for b-value spatial non-uniformity arising from B0-inhomogeneity in an ultra-low field system

James Gholam1, Joshua Ametepe1, Mara Cercignani1, Francesco Padormo2, and Derek K Jones1
1CUBRIC, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom, 2Hyperfine Inc., Guilford, CT, United States

Synopsis

Keywords: Low-Field MRI, Low-Field MRI

Motivation: Diffusion MRI relies on applying spatially uniform b-values across the field-of-view. However gradient and static field non-uniformity cause the b-value to become spatially dependent, biasing susequent analysis if not corrected for.

Goal(s): To develop a method to correct for static-field induced diffusion weighting, and demonstrate its impact on an ultra-low-field MR system.

Approach: Asymmetric fast spin-echo fieldmapping was used to compute spatially dependent b-value maps and these were used to correct simulated and in-vivo data

Results: b-value variation upwards of 5% are observed in typical neuroimaging fields-of view in a commercial ULF-MRI system

Impact: This work demonstrates that diffusion estimates in inhomogeneous static fields with weak encoding gradients are likely to be significantly skewed by that inhomogeneity. We demonstrate a simple fieldmap correction that does not require downstream retooling and induces minimal noise enhancement.

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