Eric Aliotta1,2, Holden H Wu1,2, and Daniel B Ennis1,2
1Radiological Sciences, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States, 2Biomedical Physics IDP, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
Spin-Echo EPI Diffusion Weighted MRI (SE-EPI DWI) typically uses a diffusion encoding gradient waveform with two identical gradients on either side of the 180° pulse which, in combination with the temporal footprint of the EPI readout results in sequence dead time. This dead time can be used for additional diffusion encoding which can, in turn, reduce TE and/or be used to null gradient moments for bulk motion compensated diffusion encoding. Convex Optimized Diffusion Encoding (CODE) was developed to minimize TE for DWI with and without motion compensation, implemented on a clinical scanner and tested in volunteers.