An improved nuclear magnetic resonance diffusion coefficient imaging method using an optimized pulse sequence

Abstract

Two‐dimensional diffusion coefficient maps (images) of a carefully controlled diffusion phantom have been measured by a new diffusion imaging sequence using a 0.6‐T whole‐body nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) scanner having a gradient field strength of 2.5 mT/m. The free induction decay (FID) data for the diffusion coefficient images was collected by varying the duration of the readout gradient in the conventional two‐dimensional Fourier imaging sequence. The experimental results obtained by the proposed NMR diffusion measurement technique indicate a close agreement with other previous measurements. The selection of optimum spin‐echo time for maximum signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) in diffusion imaging is studied and also experimentally confirmed. Finally, a preclinical study with human volunteers has been performed and results are presented.