Slab profile encoding (PEN) for minimizing slab boundary artifact in three-dimensional diffusion-weighted multislab...

Area of Science:

• Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• Medical Physics
• Image Reconstruction

Background:

• Three-dimensional (3D) multislab diffusion imaging is crucial for neuroimaging.
• Slab boundary artifacts can degrade image quality and diagnostic accuracy.
• Existing artifact mitigation methods may increase scan time.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel method for reducing slab boundary artifacts in 3D multislab diffusion imaging.
• To achieve artifact mitigation with minimal or no increase in acquisition time.
• To improve the quality of diffusion-weighted images.

Main Methods:

• The proposed method treats multislab acquisition as parallel imaging.
• Slab profiles are utilized as receiver sensitivity profiles.
• Simultaneous reconstruction of all slabs is performed using Cartesian sensitivity encoding (SENSE).
• Slab profile estimation is achieved via Bloch simulation or a calibration scan.

Main Results:

• Negligible slab boundary artifacts were observed in both phantom and in vivo studies.
• The proposed method demonstrates comparable performance to existing techniques.
• Artifact reduction is achieved without the scan time penalty associated with increased volume acquisition.
• The maximum g-factor in the region of interest was 1.7.

Conclusions:

• A novel method effectively mitigates slab boundary artifacts in 3D diffusion imaging.
• The technique leverages parallel imaging principles for simultaneous multislab reconstruction.
• This approach offers artifact reduction without a scan time increase proportional to the number of acquired volumes.