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Abstract #0192

Comparison Between Readout-Segmented (RS)-EPI and an Improved Distortion Correction Method for Short-Axis Propeller (SAP)-EPI

Stefan Skare1, Samantha J. Holdsworth1, Kristen Yeom1, Patrick David Barnes1, Roland Bammer1

1Radiology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, United States


Short-Axis readout Propeller EPI (SAP-EPI) and Readout-Segmented EPI (RS-EPI) have been proposed for use in high resolution diffusion-weighted (DW) imaging. SAP-EPI and RS-EPI share common characteristics, in that k-space is traversed by several EPI segments in order to reduce the distortion and blurring that typically hampers EPI images. Previous work comparing RS-EPI and SAP-EPI concluded that SAP-EPI suffers from more blurring compared with RS-EPI despite attempts to correct for distortion. With an improved distortion correction method, we demonstrate that SAP-EPI results in similar image resolution to RS-EPI for a given SNR normalized for scan time/slice.