Achieva tx 3.0 tesla

Brain MRI was performed at the earliest possible time point after injury and again approximately one week later. All initial scans were completed <72hrs after injury and the period of 7–10 days following injury for the follow up scan was selected in order to cover the time period when most patients are maximally symptomatic after concussion [19 ]. MRI data were acquired on a Philips Achieva TX 3.0 Tesla (Philips Healthcare, Best, Netherlands) MRI scanner using an 8-channel brain coil with dual quasar gradients (maximum gradient strength 80 mT/m, slew rate 100 T/m/s). T1-weighted images were acquired using a 3D inversion recovery spoiled gradient echo technique (TE/TR/TI/flip angle = 3.7ms/8.1ms/1008ms/8° with a SENSE factor of 1.5). A sagittal acquisition matrix of 240x240x160 provided whole-brain coverage with an isotropic 1mm spatial resolution and a scan time of less than 8 minutes. Diffusion-weighted images were acquired using a single-shot, spin-echo EPI acquisition with b = 1000 s/mm² with 46 uniformly distributed, non-collinear directions. An additional 6 images were acquired with no diffusion weighting (b = 0 s/mm²). The acquisition matrix was 120x120 with a field of view of 240x240mm² using a SENSE factor of 2. 59 contiguous 2mm-thick slices were acquired, aligned AC-PC. TE/TR = 68ms/10000ms with a scan time of 9 minutes.