Table 2.

Details of the MRI scanning parameters.

MRI Scanner	3 Tesla I		3 Tesla II		1.5 Tesla
Sequence	T1w GRE FLASH	T2w TSE HASTE	T1w GRE FLASH	T2w TSE HASTE	T1w GRE FLASH	T2w TSE HASTE
TR/TE (ms)	168/2.46	1000/95	168/2.46	1600/95	167/2.39	850/81
Flip angle (deg.)	70	155	70	180	70	180
Slice thickness (mm)	5	5	5	5	6	6
Spacing between slices	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	6.6	6.6
Pixel spacing	1.125/1.125	1.125/1.125	1.125/1.125	1.125/1.125	1.09375/1.09375	1.3671875/1.3671875
Acquisition Matrix	320/158	320/194	320/210	320/194	320/203	256/167
Number of phase encoding steps	158	124	210	124	203	111
In plane phase encoding direction	anterior-posterior
Patient position	Head first (phased-array body coil)
Fat-saturation	None
Breathing regimen	Multi-breath-hold

T1w: T1-weighted. T2w: T2-weighted. GRE: Gradient Echo. TSE: Turbo Spin Echo. FLASH: Fast Low Angle Shot. HASTE: Half Fourier Acquisition single Shot Turbo Spin Echo. TR: repetition time. TE: echo time. Deg.: degree.