Two-Scan Multiple Echo Diffusion Tensor Acquisition Technique on a 3T Clinical Scanner with Application to Skeletal Muscle

Steven Baete¹, Gene Cho¹, ², Eric E. Sigmund¹

This abstract describes a method with accelerated diffusion encoding, capable of acquiring a full diffusion tensor in just two encodings on a clinical scanner. The method, Multiple Echo Diffusion Tensor Acquisition Technique (MEDITATE), employs five rf-pulses, optimized for the tissue of interest, and a pattern of diffusion gradients to encode a train of echoes with different diffusion weightings and directions. The resulting signals can be used to estimate DTI parameters as demonstrated in in vivo skeletal muscle. This sequence may be useful in the future in clinical applications requiring time-sensitive acquisition of DTI parameters such as dynamical DTI in muscle.