SMS MUSSELS: A navigator-free reconstruction for simultaneous multi-slice-accelerated multi-shot diffusion weighted...

Area of Science:

• Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• Image Reconstruction
• Diffusion Weighted Imaging

Background:

• Simultaneous multi-slice (SMS) acceleration with blipped-CAIPI schemes speeds up multi-shot diffusion weighted imaging (ms-DWI) acquisition.
• Traditional reconstruction involves phase compensation and slice unfolding, often requiring iterative recovery.
• Existing methods can struggle with phase artifacts and performance at higher acceleration factors.

Purpose of the Study:

• Introduce a novel, single-step reconstruction method for SMS-accelerated ms-DWI.
• Address limitations of traditional iterative reconstruction approaches.
• Improve the quality and efficiency of ms-DWI reconstruction.

Main Methods:

• A novel joint recovery scheme leveraging the low-rank property of k-space data.
• Simultaneous SENSE-based slice unfolding and structured low-rank matrix completion for missing k-space data recovery.
• Application of smoothness regularization for higher acceleration factors.

Main Results:

• The proposed method achieved effective slice unfolding and DWI recovery with minimal phase artifacts.
• Performance was comparable to existing methods at low acceleration factors.
• The method demonstrated superior performance compared to existing techniques at higher acceleration factors.

Conclusions:

• The novel reconstruction method successfully recovers diffusion weighted images from SMS-accelerated ms-DWI acquisitions.
• This approach offers a viable solution for high-quality ms-DWI at increased acceleration levels.
• The technique shows promise for accelerating diffusion imaging protocols.