Accelerated second-order motion-compensated diffusion imaging with phase-contrast for regional cerebral blood flow quantification

Motivation: Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) quantification using second-order motion-compensated diffusion imaging with phase-contrast (2nd-MC-DIP) achieves accurate measurements; however, long acquisition time limits its clinical implementation. Goal(s): To reduce the acquisition time of 2nd-MC-DIP using optimal b-value selection while maintaining accurate rCBF quantification. Approach: We compared rCBF values between conventional (11 b-values) and accelerated (4 optimally selected b-values) 2nd-MC-DIP in healthy volunteers, validating against arterial spin labeling (ASL). Results: The accelerated protocol showed no significant differences in rCBF values compared with the conventional 11-point protocol and demonstrated significant positive correlations with ASL, achieving equivalent accuracy with a 63% reduction in acquisition time. Impact: Optimized b-value selection achieved a three-fold reduction in acquisition time, making 2nd-MC-DIP practical for clinical use in accurate rCBF quantification.