The higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) offered by the ultra-high field (UHF) strengths are often exploited to improve the spatial resolution capabilities of several MR imaging modalities. However, SNR advantage of UHF scanners do not often translate to improved diffusion weighted images (DWIs), especially using conventional single-shot echo-planar imaging-based acquisitions. The presence of diffusion gradients limit the lowest echo-time (TE) achievable, while the shortened T2 and T2* values lead to faster decay of the MRI signal, both of which are detrimental to the already signal-starved DWIs. We propose a short-TE acquisition based on multi-shot EPI and partial Fourier acquisition to enable high resolution diffusion imaging at 7T that does not need navigator scans or phase calibration.
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