Markus Nilsson

Most studies using diffusion MRI today rely on a pair of gradient pulses to do the diffusion encoding. However, this approach is fundamentally limited in several ways. This talk will provide examples of these limitations and show how to use advanced gradient waveforms to overcome them. Examples from recent papers will demonstrate how such advanced encodings can radically change the interpretation of diffusion MRI data.

Jana Hutter

This talk will focus on the recent developments combining diffusion MRI with relaxometry. It will first give details on the parameters and choices available on the acquisition side. Next, possible analysis techniques will be presented and finally recent results detailing possible applications will be discussed.

Lucio Frydman

Lars Mueller

Spiral readouts for diffusion weighted MRI are gaining more interest. The idea has been around for quite a while, because of the shorter echo time and thus signal to noise ratio achievable compared to EPI. With the advent of field monitoring and/or gradient impulse response function, high quality single shot imaging has become possible. This was achieved by employing an expanded signal model, which incorporates higher order k-space and B0-inhomogeneities. We will have a look at the steps necessary to achieve high quality diffusion imaging with spiral readouts.

Eddy Solomon

This talk will discuss a relatively new MRI methodology called SPatio-temporal ENcoding (SPEN). SPEN is a highly robust method overcoming B0-inhomogeneities and heterogeneous chemical shift environments, and hence presents advantages in multiple diffusion studies. Attention will be focused on the physical basis employed to quantify diffusion experiments using SPEN and recent substantial advantages will be discussed in terms of both anatomical image qualities and diffusional information vis-à-vis EPI.

Rita Nunes

Clinical applications of DWI outside the brain have grown significantly over the years, particularly in the detection and characterization of cancer lesions. This lecture will focus on the specific challenges of applying this technique to body imaging, presenting some of the existing strategies for dealing with these issues.