Sense xl torso coil

The DTI protocol included DTI sequences in the axial plane with the rFOV [20 (link)]. The participants were scanned in a supine position using Sense XL Torso coil (Philips Healthcare, Best, The Netherlands). The rFOV scan was performed using a special sensitivity array encoding technique (factor: 2, spectral-spatial radio frequency pulse and water excitation method), a diffusion-weighted spinecho single-shot echo-planar imaging with free breathing technique, 11 different diffusion gradients, and a b-value of 800 sec/mm². The rFOV was created using FOV optimized and constrained undistorted single-shot sequence sequence and two-dimensional spatially selective echoplanar radiofrequency excitation pulse (GE Healthcare). The 16 slices for rFOV (contiguous thickness, 3 mm) were acquired from L3 to S1 nerve roots. The parameters were as follows: TR, 6,000 ms; TE, 55.6 ms; 6 excitations, FOV, 100×60 mm; matrix, 68×34; voxel size, 1.47×1.76×3 mm; and total acquisition time, 7 minutes 18 seconds.

Volunteers were examined on a 3T MR clinical scanner (Philips, Achieva, Philips Healthcare, Best, The Netherlands), using a 16‐element body coil (SENSE XL Torso coil). Volunteers underwent coronal T₂‐weighted anatomical imaging and diffusion weighted imaging (DWI), which consisted of two scans: a DTI scan with b = 0, 100, and 300 s/mm² in 15 gradient directions, and an IVIM scan with b = 10, 25, 40, 75, 100, 200, 300, 500, 700 s/mm² in three gradient directions. All image acquisitions were navigation‐triggered7, 10, 33 (see Table 1 for the MRI acquisition details). After acquisition, all raw images were assessed for data quality. Images were evaluated by the principle investigator (S.v.B., 1 year of experience) in agreement with experienced MRI scientists (A.L. and M.F., 10 years of experience) and an experienced pediatric urologist (P.D., 25 years of experience) on a three‐point scale (1 = bad, 2 = sufficient, 3 = good) for the presence of visible blurring, signal dropouts, susceptibility artifacts, and distortions. Datasets with a score of 2 or 3 were considered of adequate quality for further processing.

The DTI protocol included DTI sequences in the axial plane with and without the rFOV. The participants were scanned in the supine position using a Sense XL Torso coil (Philips Healthcare, Best, The Netherlands). Conventional FOV and rFOV scans were performed using a special sensitivity array encoding technique (factor: 2, spectral–spatial radio frequency pulse, and water excitation method), a diffusion-weighted spin-echo single-shot echoplanar imaging with free-breathing technique, 11 different diffusion gradients, and a b-value of 800 sec/mm². The rFOV was generated using the FOV Optimized and Constrained Undistorted Single-shot sequence (GE Healthcare) and a two-dimensional spatially selective echoplanar RF excitation pulse. In total, 52 slices for the conventional FOV and 16 slices for the rFOV (contiguous thickness: 3 mm) were acquired from the L5 to S1 nerve roots. For the conventional FOV, the parameters were as follows: TR, 6,000 ms; TE, 74.5 ms; 4 excitations; FOV, 320×256 mm; matrix, 96×192; voxel size, 3.33×1.33×3 mm; and total acquisition time, 4 minutes 54 seconds. For the rFOV, the parameters were as follows: TR, 6,000 ms; TE, 55.6 ms; 6 excitations; FOV, 100×60 mm; matrix, 68×34; voxel size, 1.47×1.76×3 mm; and total acquisition time, 7 minutes 18 seconds.