Diffusion weighted STEAM with UTE readout is a promising acquisition method to measure diffusion in tissues with short T2 and T2*, such as tendons, ligaments and menisci. However, the accuracy of the ADC obtained with this method has not been studied before. Using experiments and Bloch simulations we show that the ADC can be biased, especially when a short TR is used, and that this bias depends on T1 and T2. Randomization of the diffusion gradient direction reduces the bias, providing clear suggestions to improve acquisition and/or post processing that reduces the ADC bias.
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