Effect of the Relationship between Respiratory Interval and Temporal Resolution on Image Quality in Free-breathing Abdominal MR Imaging.

PURPOSE: To evaluate how the relationship between respiratory interval (RI) and temporal resolution (TR) impacts image quality in free-breathing abdominal MRI (FB-aMRI) using golden-angle radial sparse parallel (GRASP). METHODS: Ten healthy volunteers (25.9 ± 2.5 years, four women) underwent 2 mins free-breathing fat-suppression T1-weighted imaging using GRASP at RIs of 3 and 5s (RI3 and RI5, respectively) and retrospectively reconstructed at TR of 1.8, 2.9, 4.8, and 7.7s (TR1.8, TR2.9, TR4.8, and TR7.7, respectively) in each patient. The standard deviation (SD) under the diaphragm was measured using SD maps showing the discrepancy for each horizontal section at all TRs. Two radiologists evaluated image quality (visualization of the right hepatic vein at the confluence of the inferior vena cava, posterior segment branch of portal vein, pancreas, left kidney, and artifacts) at all TRs using a 5-point scale. RESULTS: The SD was significantly higher at TR1.8 compared to TR4.8 (P < 0.01) and TR7.7 (P < 0.001), as well as at TR2.9 compared to TR7.7 (P < 0.01) for both RIs. The SD between TR4.8 and TR7.7 did not differ for both RIs. For all visual assessment metrics, the TR1.8 scores were significantly lower than the TR4.8 and TR7.7 scores for both RIs. The pancreas and left kidney scores at TR2.9 were significantly lower than those at TR7.7 (P < 0.05) for RI5. Additionally, the left kidney score at TR1.8 was lower than that at TR2.9 (P < 0.05) for RI3. All scores at TR2.9, TR4.8, and TR7.7 were similar for RI3, while those at TR4.8 and TR7.7 were similar for RI5. CONCLUSION: Prolonging the TRs compared to RIs enhances image quality in FB-aMRI using GRASP.

Biexponential analysis of intravoxel incoherent motion in calf muscle before and after exercise: Comparisons with arterial spin labeling perfusion and T2.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to clarify exercise-induced changes in intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) parameters obtained from diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) of the calf muscle, as well as the relationships between IVIM parameters, perfusion, and water content in muscle tissue. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirteen healthy volunteers underwent IVIM-DWI, arterial spin labeling (ASL), and multi-echo spin-echo T2 mapping of the right calf on a 3.0-T magnetic resonance imaging scanner before and after performing dorsiflexion exercise. From the data, we derived the perfusion-related diffusion coefficient (D⁎), perfusion component fraction (F), blood flow parameter (FD⁎), and restricted diffusion coefficient (D) in the tibialis anterior muscle. The muscle blood flow (MBF) and transverse relaxation time (T2) were also calculated from the ASL and multi-echo spin-echo data, respectively. We compared the parameters measured before and after exercise and assessed the relationship of each IVIM-derived perfusion parameter (D⁎, F, and FD⁎) with MBF and each diffusion parameter (D and ADC) or F with T2. RESULTS: Notably, all these parameters were significantly increased after exercise. Before exercise, the FD⁎ exhibited a significant positive correlation with the MBF, whereas no significant correlation was observed between D⁎ or F and MBF. After exercise, both D⁎ and FD⁎ exhibited significant positive correlations with MBF, whereas F was not significantly correlated with MBF. Additionally, D was significantly correlated with T2 after exercise, but not before exercise. No significant correlations were found between ADC and T2 either before or after exercise. CONCLUSIONS: The IVIM analyses before and after exercise enable the simultaneous evaluation of exercise-induced changes in perfusion and water diffusion in the muscle and increases the body of information on muscle physiology.