In our experiment, where the extent of the OCT scan is 400 μm (and represents the size of a 10.5 dpc embryonic rat heart) and the imaging plane is rotated by 3° for each time series, the distance between neighboring slices at the radially most distant border is about 10 μm, which is similar to the step used for parallel-slice imaging approaches.
Frequently, these imaging techniques are complimentary to each other and could be used for parallel detection to have a clearer picture and provide a correct diagnosis.
The MRI unit was fitted with a dedicated 8-channel head coil (best coil configuration available at time of installation) and the possibility for parallel imaging using the array spatial sensitivity encoding technique (ASSET).
PET images are reconstructed using a variant of EM and MR data are reconstructed using an inverse Fourier transform or iterative algorithms for parallel imaging or compressed sensing.
Improvements in k-space sampling techniques such as the use of parallel imaging techniques allow for increased spatial resolution without reduction of temporal resolution.
Strategies to optimise image quality often incorporate the use of parallel imaging techniques, fat-suppression techniques, and signal averaging.
These techniques, aligned with the use of parallel imaging, delivers ultra-fast imaging [49].
Therefore, MR imaging at high field strength (7 T) might be favourable as it provides an intrinsically higher SNR that can be used for higher spatial resolution and/or for faster imaging by using higher parallel imaging rates [ 11].
There is also a need for improvement in image quality, for example, by using parallel imaging, multichannel coils and higher field strengths (e.g., 3 T)[ 15 22].
Conversely, when using EPI, parallel imaging allows the acquisition of a higher volume, which results in an increased number of slices for the same TR value.
