Dear Chelsea,
multiband is the best invention since sliced bread.
>
> My group is working on optimizing a DTI experiment protocol and wanted your advice on some decisions. We are deciding between a multiband vs. non-multiband tradeoff with number of directions:
>
> Option1: Multiband with 96 directions
>
> Option2: Non-multiband with 137 directions
> (for option two, it is possible to switch to multiband if you recommend that).
>
> Note: we are working with young children so our primary goal is to make the scan as short as possible. Will switching to multiband shorten our scan time?
I am a little confused by your options. To answer your last question first, yes multiband will shorten your acquisition time by the multiband factor (typically 3 or 4).
Therefore the choice is usually between multiband and many directions, or single band and fewer directions. And put like that the choice is quite easy.
The only real trade off with multiband (MB) is IPAT (in plane acceleration). It is tricky to combine very high MB and IPAT factors. Depending on your coil array there will be a sweet spot somewhere MB~3-4 and IPAT~2-3
Jesper
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