Accelerating joint relaxation-diffusion MRI by integrating time division multiplexing and simultaneous multi-slice (TDM-SMS) strategies

Purpose To accelerate the acquisition of relaxation-diffusion imaging by integrating time-division multiplexing (TDM) with simultaneous multi-slice (SMS) for EPI and evaluate imaging quality and diffusion measures. Methods The time-division multiplexing (TDM) technique and SMS method were integrated to achieve a high slice-acceleration (e.g., 6x) factor for acquiring relaxation-diffusion MRI. Two variants of the sequence, referred to as TDM3e-SMS and TDM2s-SMS, were developed to simultaneously acquire slice groups with three distinct TEs and two slice groups with the same TE, respectively. Both sequences were evaluated on a 3T scanner with in vivo human brains and compared with standard single-band (SB) -EPI and SMS-EPI using diffusion measures and tractography results. Results Experimental results showed that the TDM3e-SMS sequence with total slice acceleration of 6 (multiplexing factor (MP) = 3 x multi-band factor (MB) = 2) provided similar image intensity and microstructure measures compared to standard SMS-EPI with MB = 2, and yielded less bias in intensity compared to standard SMS-EPI with MB = 4. The three sequences showed a similar positive correlation between TE and mean kurtosis (MK) and a negative correlation between TE and mean diffusivity (MD) in white matter. Multi-fiber tractography also shows consistency of results in TE-dependent measures between different sequences. The TDM2s-SMS sequence (MP = 2, MB = 2) also provided imaging measures similar to standard SMS-EPI sequences (MB = 2) for single-TE diffusion imaging. Conclusions The TDM-SMS sequence can provide additional 2x to 3x acceleration to SMS without degrading imaging quality. With the significant reduction in scan time, TDM-SMS makes joint relaxation-diffusion MRI a feasible technique in neuroimaging research to investigate new markers of brain disorders.