Distortion-free diffusion imaging using single-shot diffusion-prepared TSE sequence with spiral-ring readouts and magnitude stabilizers

This study provides an alternative approach to conventional diffusion-weighted (DW) EPI-based sequences. A 2D single-shot (SS) diffusion-prepared (DP) turbo-spin-echo (TSE) sequence, combined with spiral-ring trajectories and magnitude stabilizers, dubbed “SS-DP-SPRING TSE”, was developed for distortion- and motion artifact-free diffusion imaging. Compared to a SS-DW-EPI sequence, this method is less sensitive to B0-inhomogeneity and thus provides DW-images with improved geometric fidelity.