MR Line-scan Diffusion Imaging of the Spinal

Summary: Diffusion imaging has been widely used in the brain, but its application in the spinal cord has been lim-ited. Using line-scan diffusion imaging (LSDI), a technique that is less sensitive to magnetic susceptibility and motion artifacts than are other diffusion techniques, we have suc-cessfully imaged the spinal cord in children. The apparent diffusion coefficient and relative diffusion anisotropy of the normal spinal cord were measured. LSDI was compared with echo-planar diffusion imaging of the spine in three patients. Diffusion imaging of the brain is now a well-established technique (1–3). Diffusion imaging of the spinal cord, however, has proved more chal-lenging. Echo-planar diffusion imaging (EPDI) has had limited application in the spine because of it