Increased maximum gradient amplitude improves robustness of spin-echo cardiac diffusion-weighted MRI

Background Cardiac motion presents a major challenge in diffusion weighted MRI (DWI), often leading to large signal dropouts that necessitate repeated measurements (Pai, V.M., MRM 2011). While cardiac DWI is generally ECG gated to apply diffusion weighting during peak-systole or enddiastole, these intervals can be short and difficult to pinpoint, resulting in poor sequence reproducibility. Recent improvements in gradient hardware provide larger maximum gradients than current systems (Gmax=80mT/m), which can substantially reduce the temporal footprint of diffusion preparation and make cardiac DWI more robust to bulk motion.