Quiet echo planar imaging for functional and diffusion MRI

• Published in: Magnetic resonance in medicine Vol. 79; no. 3; pp. 1447 - 1459
• Main Authors: Hutter, Jana, Price, Anthony N., Cordero‐Grande, Lucilio, Malik, Shaihan, Ferrazzi, Giulio, Gaspar, Andreia, Hughes, Emer J., Christiaens, Daan, McCabe, Laura, Schneider, Torben, Rutherford, Mary A., Hajnal, Joseph V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.03.2018; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Acceptable noise levels; Acoustic noise; Acoustics; Adaptability; Adult; Brain; Brain - diagnostic imaging; Crushers; Diffusion; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; diffusion MRI; Echo-Planar Imaging - methods; Female; fetal; Fetus - diagnostic imaging; Fetuses; Frequency dependence; Frequency response functions; Full Papers—Imaging Methodology; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; functional MRI; Humans; Image quality; Magnetic resonance imaging; Male; Medicine; Neuroimaging; Neuroimaging - methods; Noise levels; Noise reduction; Phantoms, Imaging; Pregnancy; Prenatal Diagnosis; sequence development; Spatial discrimination; Spatial resolution; Temporal resolution; Waveforms; sequence development; diffusion MRI; functional MRI; magnetic resonance imaging; fetal; neuroimaging
• ISSN: 0740-3194; 1522-2594; 1522-2594
• DOI: 10.1002/mrm.26810

Purpose To develop a purpose‐built quiet echo planar imaging capability for fetal functional and diffusion scans, for which acoustic considerations often compromise efficiency and resolution as well as angular/temporal coverage. Methods The gradient waveforms in multiband‐accelerated single‐shot echo planar imaging sequences have been redesigned to minimize spectral content. This includes a sinusoidal read‐out with a single fundamental frequency, a constant phase encoding gradient, overlapping smoothed CAIPIRINHA blips, and a novel strategy to merge the crushers in diffusion MRI. These changes are then tuned in conjunction with the gradient system frequency response function. Results Maintained image quality, SNR, and quantitative diffusion values while reducing acoustic noise up to 12 dB (A) is illustrated in two adult experiments. Fetal experiments in 10 subjects covering a range of parameters depict the adaptability and increased efficiency of quiet echo planar imaging. Conclusion Purpose‐built for highly efficient multiband fetal echo planar imaging studies, the presented framework reduces acoustic noise for all echo planar imaging‐based sequences. Full optimization by tuning to the gradient frequency response functions allows for a maximally time‐efficient scan within safe limits. This allows ambitious in‐utero studies such as functional brain imaging with high spatial/temporal resolution and diffusion scans with high angular/spatial resolution to be run in a highly efficient manner at acceptable sound levels. Magn Reson Med 79:1447–1459, 2018. © 2017 The Authors Magnetic Resonance in Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.