Volumetric TSE-Based DWI Acquisition with a Pseudospiral K-Space Trajectory and Phase Correction Algorithm: Application in the Breast

Motivation: Current image quality limitations of conventional diffusion weighted sequences in the breast offer an exciting opportunity for novel acquisitions that can generate distortion-free images within clinically feasible scan times. Goal(s): To test a novel TSE-based 3D DWI sequence (VD-CASPR) in the breast of healthy volunteers and assess image quality with an incorporated phase correction algorithm. Approach: Four healthy volunteers were scanned with current reference standard DW-EPI and DW-TSE for breast serving as benchmark for our 3D DWI sequence. Results: Our VD-CASPR sequence with phase correction was able to generate high quality images at various b-values within shorter scan times compared to DW-TSE. Impact: Our novel 3D DWI sequence and reconstruction pipeline generated high SNR images free of geometric distortions in the breast of healthy volunteers. Volumetric coverage without geometric distortion can facilitate co-registration with anatomical images for improved tumor characterization.