FIG. 3.

This figure shows the rationale behind oblique imaging in this study. If the MR signal is averaged in the slice select direction through thick-slice acquisition in a direction that is parallel to the image edges and perpendicular to the fine structural details, image features will be delineated with high SNR (a). This is an ideal imaging scenario; however, it is not always possible to image in this direction, mainly because anatomic structures do not follow straight lines and often follow curves. To have a more realistic model, we put the ACR phantom in an oblique orientation in the scanner (b). This position results in an axial slice like (c) which has blurred edges due to partial voluming in the slice select direction.