Image quality assessment of single-shot turbo spin echo diffusion-weighted imaging with parallel imaging technique: a...

Area of Science:

• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
• Diffusion-Weighted Imaging (DWI)

Background:

• Single-shot turbo spin echo (TSE) diffusion-weighted (DW) imaging is an alternative to echo-planar imaging (EPI) for DWI.
• Parallel imaging (PI) techniques can accelerate TSE-DW acquisition but may impact image quality and quantitative measurements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the image quality and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of TSE-DW images acquired with PI.
• To assess the effect of different acceleration factors (AFs) on TSE-DW image quality and ADC measurements.

Main Methods:

• Measurements were performed on a 3.0-T MRI system using a 32-channel coil.
• Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and ADC values were measured using phantoms.
• Image blur was assessed, and ADC values were compared between TSE-DW and EPI-DW images at AFs of 1-4.

Main Results:

• Increasing AFs decreased SNRs, even with the shortest echo time.
• Higher AFs (3-4) resulted in variable ADC values for TSE-DW images.
• TSE-DW images showed increased image blur in the phase-encoding direction at lower AFs.

Conclusions:

• TSE-DWI with AFs of 3 or 4 led to reduced SNRs and potentially inaccurate ADC measurements due to noise and artifacts.
• While PI improves image blur, optimizing TSE-DW imaging parameters is essential for maintaining image quality and accurate ADC quantification.