Feasibility of whole-body MR with T2- and T1-weighted real-time steady-state free precession sequences during continuous table movement to depict metastases.

The purpose of the study was to prospectively evaluate a whole-body magnetic resonance (MR) imaging protocol to help depict metastases by using unenhanced T2-weighted and contrast material-enhanced T1-weighted real-time sequences during continuous table movement. The study was conducted after approval of the local institutional review board and written informed consent were obtained. In 11 patients with positron emission tomographic (PET) scans positive for tumors and known metastases, whole-body MR imaging, including T2- and T1-weighted sequences, was performed before and after contrast material administration. A high-precision laser position sensor was used to register the table position for off-line multiplanar reformations of the acquired transverse whole-body data sets. Seventy-three of 75 metastases detected by using PET/computed tomography were correctly diagnosed by using MR imaging. Metastases with a diameter exceeding 5 mm could be visualized in all anatomic regions.

Changes in calf muscle elasticity in hypogonadal males before and after testosterone substitution as monitored by magnetic resonance elastography.

PURPOSE: We sought to determine whether differences in muscle elasticity between healthy age-related controls and patients with hypogonadism could be measured by a new, non-invasive method termed magnetic resonance elastography (MRE). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twelve hypogonadal (21-68 years) and twenty-seven healthy age-related men (20-76 years) were examined. In the hypogonadism group, serum testosterone levels were compared and MRE was conducted prior to and after 6 months of therapy in 6 of the 12 patients. MRE was performed by mechanically exciting the soleus muscle that was used because of its uniformly distributed muscle fibers, size, and accessibility, with a custom designed piezoelectric-actuator using a modified phase-contrast sequence. For mechanical excitation the actuator lever was placed on the anterior surface of the calf. The subjects had to maintain a force of 0-20% of their maximum voluntary contraction against a home-built footplate that was mounted on the MR table. All images were phase unwrapped and reconstructed into shear modulus elastograms using the local frequency estimation technique. RESULTS: Testosterone levels were significantly higher after 6 months of treatment. A statistical difference in the shear modulus was observed prior to and after 6 months of testosterone therapy and was nearly the same as in the healthy age-related control group. CONCLUSION: MRE seems to be a promising technique for the evaluation of therapeutic effects in patients with hypogonadism and possibly in other diseases with muscular effects.

Peripheral vascular disease: comparison of continuous MR angiography and conventional MR angiography--pilot study.

The aim of this study was to prospectively assess the accuracy of three-dimensional magnetic resonance (MR) angiography for evaluation of stenosis in the peripheral arterial system with a continuous moving table technique, with conventional MR angiography as reference. This study was approved by the local institutional review board; informed consent was obtained. Five healthy male volunteers (mean age, 27 years; range, 24-35 years) and four men and one woman (mean age, 63 years; range, 46-78 years) with peripheral arterial occlusive disease were examined. Images obtained with both techniques showed excellent concordance (Cohen kappa = 0.75). Images obtained with a conventional protocol had higher quality compared with those obtained with the continuous technique (mean, 1.07 +/- 0.25 [standard deviation] vs 1.58 +/- 0.6; P < .05); small vessels appeared sharper on them. For detection of significant stenosis and occlusion, accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of the continuous technique were 92.8%, 100%, and 89.2%, respectively.

Time-resolved contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography of the hand with parallel imaging and view sharing: initial experience.

We sought to compare a three-dimensional, contrast-enhanced, magnetic resonance angiogram (3D CE MRA) sequence combining parallel-imaging (generalised autocalibrating partially parallel acquisitions (GRAPPA)) with a time-resolved echo-shared angiographic technique (TREAT) in an intraindividual comparison to a standard 3D MRA sequence. Four healthy volunteers (27-32 years), and 11 patients (11-82 years) with vascular pathologies of the hand were examined on a 1.5-Tesla (T) MR system (Magnetom Avanto, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) using two multichannel receiver coils. Following automatic injection (flow rate 2.5 cc/s) of 0.1 mmol/kg gadoterate (Dotarem, Guerbet, Roissy, France), 32 consecutive 3D data sets were collected with the TREAT sequence (TR/TE: 4.02/1.31 ms, FA: 10 degrees, GRAPPA acceleration factor: R=2, TREAT factor: 5, voxel size: 1.0 x 0.7 x 1.3 mm(3)) and a T1-wwighted 3D gradient-echo sequence (TR/TE: 5.3/1.57 ms, FA: 30 degrees, GRAPPA acceleration factor: 2, voxel size: 0.71 x 0.71 x 0.71 mm(3,)). MR data sets were evaluated and compared for image quality and visualisation of vascular details. In the volunteer group, all MR imaging was successful while technical problems prevented acquisition of the standard protocol in two patients. For the corresponding segments, the number of visible segments was equal on both sequences. Overall image quality was significantly better on the standard protocol than on the TREAT protocol. TREAT MRA provided functional information in lesions with rapid blood flow, e.g. detection of feeding and draining vessels in an haemangioma. TREAT-MRA is a robust technique that combines morphological and functional information of the hand vasculature and deals with the very special physiological demands of vascular lesions, such as quick arteriovenous transit time.

High-resolution continuously acquired peripheral MR angiography featuring partial parallel imaging GRAPPA.

Continuously-moving-table MRI, in contrast to traditional multistation techniques, potentially can improve the scan time efficiency of whole-body applications and provide seamless images of an extended field of view (FOV). Contrast-enhanced MR angiography (CE-MRA) in particular requires high spatial resolution and at the same time has rigid scan time constraints due to the limited arterial contrast window. In this study a reconstruction method for continuously acquired 3D data sets during table movement was combined with a self-calibrated partial parallel imaging algorithm (generalized autocalibrating partially parallel acquisitions (GRAPPA)). The method was applied to peripheral CE-MRA and compared with a standard continuously-moving-table MRA protocol. The gain in scan time was used to increase the data acquisition matrix and decrease the slice thickness. The method was evaluated in five healthy volunteers and applied to one patient with peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD). The protocols were intraindividually compared with respect to the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) in selected vessel segments, as well as overall vessel depiction. The combination of the continuously-moving-table technique with parallel imaging enabled the acquisition of seamless peripheral 3D MRA with increased resolution and an overall crisper appearance.

Whole-body magnetic resonance imaging featuring moving table continuous data acquisition with high-precision position feedback.

A novel setup for whole-body MR imaging with moving table continuous data acquisition has been developed and evaluated. The setup features a manually positioned moving table platform with integrated phased-array surface radiofrequency coils. A high-precision laser position sensor was integrated into the system to provide real-time positional data that were used to compensate for nonlinear manual table translation. This setup enables continuous 2D and 3D whole-body data acquisition during table movement with surface coil image quality. The concept has been successfully evaluated with whole-body steady-state free precession (TrueFISP) anatomic imaging in five healthy volunteers. Seamless coronal and sagittal slices of continually acquired whole-body data during table movement were accurately reconstructed. The proposed strategy is potentially useful for a variety of applications, including whole-body metastasis screening, whole-body MR angiography, large field-of-view imaging in short bore systems, and for moving table applications during MR-guided interventions.