Ultra-high resolution b-tensor encoding using gSlider on a clinical scanner

Motivation: Spherical tensor encoding (STE) reveals microstructural information about tissues, which is hidden in conventional diffusion MRI techniques. However, existing STE acquisition techniques have low spatial resolution which masks intricate anatomical details. Goal(s): To increase the spatial resolution of STE using the SNR-efficient gSlider sequence. Approach: Isotropic b-tensor encoding diffusion-gradient waveforms were synergistically combined with the gSlider sequence using Pulseq vendor-neutral sequence development platform to obtain high resolution data. Results: We demonstrate in-vivo results with the highest spatial resolution to-date of 1 mm isotropic voxels using the proposed STE-gSlider sequence. Impact: High spatial resolution for b-tensor encoding will enable investigation of microstructural information in intricate detail in the brain in health and disease. Further, the proposed open-source sequence can be used on any vendor platform.