Low-field diffusion weighted imaging

1. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system, comprising:

a plurality of magnetics components including:

a B 0 magnet configured to produce a main magnetic field B 0 ;

at least one gradient coil configured to, when operated, provide spatial encoding of emitted magnetic resonance signals;

at least one radio frequency (RF) component configured to acquire, when operated, the emitted magnetic resonance signals; and

at least one controller configured to operate one or more of the plurality of magnetics components in accordance with at least one pulse sequence having a diffusion-weighted gradient encoding period followed by multiple echo periods during which magnetic resonance signals are produced and detected, wherein a first of the multiple echo periods corresponds to a first measurement of a line of k-space using a first gradient polarity and a second of the multiple echo periods corresponds to a second measurement of the line of k-space using a second gradient polarity, the first gradient polarity opposing the second gradient polarity.

2. The MRI system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one controller is further configured to reconstruct at least one image based, at, least in part, on the magnetic resonance signals detected during each of the multiple echo periods.

3. The MRI system of claim 2 , wherein the at least one pulse sequence further comprises an RF pulse followed by a readout period, wherein the readout period overlaps in time with the diffusion-weighted gradient encoding period.

4. The MRI system of claim 3 , wherein the at least one controller is further configured to:

determine a phase of free induction decay during the readout period;

fit the determined phase to a linear model; and

reconstruct the at least one image based, at least in part, on the fit phase to correct image blurring due to drift in the main magnetic field B 0 .

5. The MRI system of claim 1 , wherein reconstructing the at least one image comprises:

reconstructing a first plurality of images based, at least in part, on the magnetic resonance signals detected during the first echo period;

reconstructing a second plurality of images based, at least in part, on the magnetic signals detected during the second echo period;

de-warping the first plurality of images and the second plurality of images; and

combining the de-warped first plurality of images and the second plurality of images to reconstruct the at least one image.

6. The MRI system of claim 1 , wherein the diffusion-weighted gradient encoding period includes a diffusion-weighted gradient pulse with asymmetrical attack and decay edges such that the diffusion-weighted gradient pulse is not trapezoidal shaped.

7. The MRI system of claim 6 , wherein the attack edge of the diffusion-weighted gradient pulse has a slope that varies.

8. The MRI system of claim 1 , wherein:

the second echo period immediately follows the first echo period,

the at least one pulse sequence further comprises an RF pulse followed by a readout period, wherein the readout period overlaps in time with the diffusion-weighted gradient encoding period, and

the diffusion-weighted gradient encoding period includes a diffusion-weighted gradient pulse with asymmetrical attack and decay edges such that the diffusion-weighted gradient pulse is not trapezoidal shaped, wherein the attack edge of the diffusion-weighted gradient pulse has a slope that varies.

9. The MRI system of claim 8 , wherein the at least one controller is further configured to:

reconstruct a first plurality of images based, at least in part, on the magnetic resonance signals detected during the first echo period;

reconstruct a second plurality of images based, at least in part, on the magnetic signals detected during the second echo period;

de-warp the first plurality of images and the second plurality of images;

combine the de-warped first plurality of images and the second plurality of images to produce combined images;

determine a phase of free induction decay during the readout period;

fit the determined phase to a linear model; and

reconstruct at least one image based, at least in part, on the fit phase and the combined images.

10. The MRI system of claim 1 , wherein the B 0 magnet is configured to produce a B 0 field having a strength equal to or less than 0.2T and greater than or equal to 0.1T.

11. The MRI system of claim 1 , wherein the B 0 magnet is configured to produce a B 0 field having a strength equal to or less than 0.1T and greater than or equal to 50mT.

12. The MRI system of claim 1 , wherein the B 0 magnet is configured to produce a B 0 field having a strength equal to or less than 50mT and greater than or equal to 20mT.

13. A computer-implemented method of operating a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system to perform diffusion weighted imaging, the MRI system including a plurality of magnetics components including a B 0 magnet configured to produce a main magnetic field B 0 , at least one gradient coil configured to, when operated, provide spatial encoding of emitted magnetic resonance signals, and at least one radio frequency (RF) component configured to acquire, when operated, the emitted magnetic resonance signals, the method comprising:

controlling one or more of the plurality of magnetics components in accordance with at least one pulse sequence having a diffusion-weighted gradient encoding period followed by multiple echo periods during which magnetic resonance signals are produced and detected, wherein a first of the multiple echo periods corresponds to a first measurement of a line of k-space using a first gradient polarity and a second of the multiple echo periods corresponds to a second measurement of the line of k-space using a second gradient polarity, the first gradient polarity opposing the second gradient polarity.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13 , wherein the second echo period immediately follows the first echo period, and wherein-the method further comprises:

reconstructing a first plurality of images based, at least in part, on the magnetic resonance signals detected during the first echo period;

reconstructing a second plurality of images based, at least in part, on the magnetic signals detected during the second echo period;

de-warping the first plurality of images and the second plurality of images; and

combining the de-warped first plurality of images and the second plurality of images to reconstruct at least one image.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 13 , wherein the at least one pulse sequence further comprises an RF pulse followed by a readout period, wherein the readout period overlaps in time with the diffusion-weighted gradient encoding period, and wherein the method further comprises:

determining a phase of free induction decay during the readout period;

fitting the determined phase to a linear model; and

reconstructing at least one image based, at least in part, on the fit phase to correct image blurring due to drift in the main magnetic field B 0 .

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 13 , wherein the diffusion-weighted gradient encoding period includes a diffusion-weighted gradient pulse with an attack edge having a slope that varies.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with a plurality of instructions that, when executed by at least one computer processor, cause the at least one computer processor to perform a method of operating a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system to perform diffusion weighted imaging, the MRI system including a plurality of magnetics components including a B 0 magnet configured to produce a low-field main magnetic field B 0 , at least one gradient coil configured to, when operated, provide spatial encoding of emitted magnetic resonance signals, and at least one radio frequency (RF) component configured to acquire, when operated, the emitted magnetic resonance signals, the method comprising:

controlling one or more of the plurality of magnetics components in accordance with at least one pulse sequence having a diffusion-weighted gradient encoding period followed by multiple echo periods during which magnetic resonance signals are produced and detected, wherein a first of the multiple echo periods corresponds to a first measurement of a line of k-space using a first gradient polarity and a second of the multiple echo periods corresponds to a second measurement of the line of k-space using a second gradient polarity, the first gradient polarity opposing the second gradient polarity.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the second echo period immediately follows the first echo period the method further comprises:

reconstructing a first plurality of images based, at least in part, on the magnetic resonance signals detected during the first echo period;

reconstructing a second plurality of images based, at least in part, on the magnetic signals detected during the second echo period;

de-warping the first plurality of images and the second plurality of images; and

combining the de-warped first plurality of images and the second plurality of images to reconstruct at least one image.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the at least one pulse sequence further comprises an RF pulse followed by a readout period, wherein the readout period overlaps in time with the diffusion-weighted gradient encoding period, and wherein the method further comprises:

determining a phase of free induction decay during the readout period;

fitting the determined phase to a linear model; and

reconstructing at least one image based, at least in part, on the fit phase to correct image blurring due to drift in the main magnetic field B 0 .

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the diffusion-weighted gradient encoding period includes a diffusion-weighted gradient pulse with an attack edge having a slope that varies.