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Dynamic shimming in the cervical spinal cord for multi-echo gradient-echo imaging at 3 T
E Alonso-Ortiz1, D Papp1, A D'Astous1
1NeuroPoly Lab, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Polytechnique Montréal, QC, Canada.
Neuroimage. Reports
|June 16, 2023
Summary
Magnetic field inhomogeneities in MRI cause spinal cord image artifacts. Z-shimming improves image quality by correcting magnetic field gradients, with real-time dynamic shimming offering further enhancements.
Area of Science:
- Medical Imaging
- Neuroimaging
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Background:
- Spinal cord MRI quality is limited by magnetic susceptibility differences causing field inhomogeneities and artifacts.
- Existing methods like z-shimming use gradient coils to correct through-plane magnetic field gradients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To replicate previous findings on z-shimming improving T2*-weighted echo-planar imaging quality.
- To develop and evaluate a novel real-time dynamic shimming technique incorporating in-plane gradients and respiration compensation.
Main Methods:
- Replication of z-shimming protocols for T2*-weighted echo-planar imaging at 3 Tesla.
- Implementation and testing of real-time dynamic shimming with respiration-induced field variation compensation.
- Data acquisition from 12 healthy volunteers.
Main Results:
- Z-shimming demonstrated improved signal homogeneity along the spinal cord.
- Real-time dynamic shimming showed potential for further enhancement of signal homogeneity.
- Compensation for respiration-induced gradients, both through-plane and in-plane, improved results.
Conclusions:
- Z-shimming is effective in improving spinal cord MRI signal homogeneity.
- Real-time dynamic shimming represents a promising advancement for reducing MRI artifacts.
- Dynamic compensation for respiration-induced field variations offers significant benefits for spinal cord imaging.
