Until recently, clinically useful diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) of the spine has not been possible using standard single shot EPI techniques due to susceptibility artifacts and the need for higher spatial resolution. The novel 2D-navigator-corrected readout-segmented EPI sequence known as RESOLVE can obtain images with higher spatial resolution and reduced distortion of the spine related to susceptibility, pulsations, respiration and motion.
This is especially helpful when imaging children where the small size of their spine/cord, prominent CSF and arterial pulsations, and higher pulse and respiratory rates compared to adults can pose significant limitations on the quality of the images obtained. Motion artifacts that notoriously plague every facet of pediatric imaging are also reduced with RESOLVE.
