Zoomed EPI DWI of Acute Spinal Ischemia Using a Parallel Transmission System

Purpose A new method for diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) using independent parallel transmission technique resulting in zoomed DWI was applied in four patients suffering from acute spinal cord ischemia. Methods Four patients with clinical symptoms of acute spinal cord ischemia were examined on a 3 T MR-system equipped with a two-channel transmit array. Scans included T2-weighted turbo spin echo, conventional DWI, and zoomed DWI. Image evaluation was performed with regard to overall image quality, anatomic delineation of the spinal cord, and the level of confidence to establish the diagnosis of spinal cord ischemia. Results Through spatially selective excitation, zoomed DWI allows for acquisition of high-resolution images with reduced scan time due to a reduced field of view in phase-encoding direction, resulting in zoomed images. In all cases the ischemia was demonstrated in conventional DWI as well as zoomed DWI. Conclusions Compared to conventional DWI, zoomed DWI enables a faster image acquisition and allowed a more detailed analysis of the spinal lesion which may be critical to attribute the lesion to a particular vessel territory.