The proposed technique achieved near optimal focusing in an intact human head for the first time. These findings confirm the strong potential of energy-based adaptive focusing of transcranial ultrasonic beams for clinical applications.

The slice-following DWI SE-EPI sequence is a promising solution for clinical implementation, offering a robust improved workflow for further evaluation of DWI in cardiology. Magn Reson Med 76:70-82, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Typically, MR-elastography (MRE) encodes the propagation of monochromatic acoustic waves in the MR-phase images via sinusoidal gradients characterized by a detection frequency equal to the frequency of the mechanical vibration. Therefore, the echo time of a conventional MRE sequence is typically longer than the vibration period which is critical for heart tissue exhibiting a short T 2 . Thus, fast acquisition techniques like the so-called fractional encoding of harmonic motions were developed for cardiac applications. However, fractional encoding of harmonic motions is limited since it is two orders of magnitude less sensitive to motion than conventional MRE sequences for low-frequency vibrations. Here, a new sequence is derived from the so-called displacement encoding with stimulated echoes (DENSE) sequence. This sequence is more sensitive to displacement than fractional encoding of harmonic motions, and its spectral specificity is equivalent to conventional MRE sequences. The theoretical spectral properties of this new motion-encoding technique are validated in a phantom and excised pork heart specimen. An excellent agreement is found for the measured displacement fields using classic MRE and displacement encoding with stimulated echoes MRE (8% maximum difference). In addition, initial in vivo results on a healthy volunteer clearly show propagating shear waves at 50 Hz. Thus, displacement encoding with stimulated echoes MRE is a promising technique for motion encoding within short T 2 * materials.

The proposed methodology enabled faster acquisitions, while offering robust ihMT quantification and exquisite SC image quality. This opens great perspectives for widening the in vivo characterization of SC physiopathology using MRI, such as studying white matter tracts microstructure or impairment in degenerative pathologies. Magn Reson Med 77:581-591, 2017. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.