3D Center-Out EPI with Cylindrical Encoding

Manoj Shrestha¹, Toralf Mildner¹, Christian Labadie¹, Harald E. Mller¹

3D center-out EPI with cylindrical encoding is proposed as a rapid sampling method of 3D k-space enabling ultra-short echo time. Acquisition of multiple center-out EPI half-planes is performed while the (EPI) phase-blip gradient is rotated. 3D k-space is thus usually encoded along the read direction, and radially encoded in the planes perpendicular to it. The feasibility of the approach is demonstrated by preliminary images which are compared to imaging methods like 3D FLASH and 2D EPI. Due to the cylindrical sampling and an inherent manifold oversampling of the central k-space line, a lower susceptibility to subject motion can be expected.