title: Single-shot multiecho parallel echo-planar imaging (EPI) for diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) with improved signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and reduced distortion.
abstract: In this work, a multiecho parallel echo-planar imaging (EPI) acquisition strategy is introduced as a way to improve the acquisition efficiency in parallel diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). With the use of an appropriate echo combination strategy, the sequence can provide signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) enhancement while maintaining the advantages of parallel EPI. Simulations and in vivo experiments demonstrate that a weighted summation of multiecho images provides a significant gain in SNR over the first echo image. It is experimentally demonstrated that this SNR gain can be utilized to reduce the number of measurements often required to ensure adequate SNR for accurate DTI measures. Furthermore, the multiple echoes can be used to derive a T(2) map, providing additional information that might be useful in some applications.
authors.affiliation: The Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology/Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA.
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nana
authors.forename: Tiejun
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Xiaoping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D016477:Artifacts; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D017352:Echo-Planar Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity