Use of multi-flip angle measurements to account for transmit inhomogeneity and non-Gaussian diffusion in DW-SSFP.

ABSTRACT: Diffusion-weighted steady-state free precession (DW-SSFP) is an SNR-efficient diffusion imaging method. The improved SNR and resolution available at ultra-high field has motivated its use at 7T. However, these data tend to have severe B₁ inhomogeneity, leading not only to spatially varying SNR, but also to spatially varying diffusivity estimates, confounding comparisons both between and within datasets. This study proposes the acquisition of DW-SSFP data at two-flip angles in combination with explicit modelling of non-Gaussian diffusion to address B₁ inhomogeneity at 7T. Data were acquired from five fixed whole human post-mortem brains with a pair of flip angles that jointly optimize the diffusion contrast-to-noise (CNR) across the brain. We compared one- and two-flip

SUBMITTER: Tendler BC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7573656 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature