Diffusion-weighted (DW) MRI with single-refocused spin-echo preparation suffers from eddy-current induced image distortions. In this study, a method for substantial reduction of eddy-current artifacts is proposed. Dummy scans comprising DW gradients prior to the acquisition of each multi-slice data volume yield a steady state of eddy-currents and thus comparable distortions across the volume which subsequently can be corrected via an advanced setting of the eddy-current correction FMRIB software library tool. In comparison to the commonly used twice-refocused spin-echo sequence for eddy-current compensation, the proposed method is less sensitive to radiofrequency inhomogeneities and offers higher signal-to-noise ratio due to shorter echo-time.
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