Simultaneous multislice EPI reconstruction by incorporating split slice-GRAPPA with slice-dependent 2D Nyquist ghost correction (PEC-SP-SG)

Abstract

Simultaneous multislice (SMS) EPI reconstruction is challenging due to slice-dependent 2D phase differences between opposite polarities, which is collapsed across slices. Additionally, slice leakage is one major concern in some applications including diffusion and functional MRI. The proposed SMS EPI reconstruction incorporates phase error correction with split slice-GRAPPA (PEC-SP-SG), and was evaluated using simulation, phantom and in vivo experiments. Results show that the proposed approach can offer a robust SMS EPI reconstruction with slice-dependent 2D Nyquist ghost correction, and provide a balance between slice leakage and in-plane artifacts.