High-resolution and High-fidelity DTI of Cervical Cord using 3D Reduced-FOV Multiplexed Sensitivity Encoding (3D-rFOV-MUSE)

Motivation: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of cervical spinal cord (csc-DTI) based on 2D-ss-EPI often encounters several challenges, such as low attainable spatial resolution, severe geometric distortion, and Nyquist ghost. Goal(s): To develop a 3D high-spatial-resolution and high-fidelity csc-DTI technique for addressing the current challenges existing in 2D csc-DTI. Approach: A 3D-rFOV-MUSE technique was developed by combining 3D-MUSE with two reduced-FOV techniques, for acquiring 3D csc-DTI data with a single sagittal thin slab. Results: Compared with routine 2D technique, our technique can mitigate through-plane partial volume effects and facilitate multi-planar data reformation for csc-DTI, with effective reductions of distortions and substantial improvements in SNR. Impact: The proposed 3D-rFOV-MUSE technique can produce high-fidelity csc-DTI at 1.0 mm-isotropic resolution, which can precisely assess the microstructural integrity of the cervical spinal cord. This may provide further pathophysiological insights to aid differential diagnosis for different cervical spinal cord diseases.