Muscular Skeletal Perfusion Imaging using a UTE-Based DW-SSFP Sequence

Motivation: This is to apply the DW-SSFP sequence to perfusion mapping. The DW-SSFP sequence does not use the refocusing 180° RF pulse and hence its echo time is much shorter than the EPI diffusion sequence. Therefore, this sequence is expected to be better for perfusion mapping of muscles and bones than the EPI diffusion sequence. Goal(s): Evaluate the perfusion sensitivity of DW-SSFP in muscles and bones at the lower leg and knee. Approach: The DW-SSFP was applied with relatively small amount of diffusion weighting in 6 steps. Results: The perfusion maps in muscular skeletal tissues were obtained with high sensitivity and reliability. Impact: The new three-dimensional perfusion mapping sequence is very sensitive to perfusion of muscular skeletal tissue. This sequence can replace the spin-echo EPI diffusion sequence. This will be useful in 7T MRI due to employing low flip angle RF pulses.