PASTeUR package extension to slab-selective excitations and 3D-EPI for plug-and-play parallel transmit at 7 Tesla

Keywords: Parallel Transmit & Multiband; High-Field MRI; RF Pulse Design & Fields; fMRI PASTeUR is a package of sequences using non-selective parallel transmission Universal Pulses (UP) as a plug-and-play pTX solution alleviating B1+ inhomogeneities. Here, we extend the UP solution to slab-selective excitations while preserving a plug-and-play philosophy. A slab of any thickness/orientation/rotation can be acquired without subject-specific calibrations. In vivo experiments performed with an fMRI protocol on a 3D-EPI show that the improved B1+ homogeneity can result in higher SNR. Moreover, the slab-selective UP coupled with parallel imaging and segmented k-space acquisitions pushed further the quality of 3D-EPI.