Improved gradient-echo 3D magnetic resonance imaging using compressed sensing and Toeplitz encoding with phase-scrambled RF excitation.

PURPOSE: To develop a novel three-dimensional (3D) hybrid-encoding framework using compressed sensing (CS) and Toeplitz encoding with variable phase-scrambled radio-frequency (RF) excitation, which has the following advantages: low power deposition of RF pulses, reduction of the signal dynamic range, no additional hardware requirement, and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) improvement. METHODS: In light of the actual imaging framework of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners, we applied specially tailored RF pulses with phase-scrambled RF excitation to implement a 3D hybrid Fourier-Toeplitz encoding method based on 3D gradient-recalled echo pulse (GRASS) sequence. This method exploits Toeplitz encoding along the phase encoding direction, while keeping Fourier encoding along the readout and slice encoding directions. Phantom experiments were conducted to optimize the amplitude of specially tailored RF pulses in the 3D GRASS sequence. In vivo experiments were conducted to validate the feasibility of the proposed method, and simulations were conducted to compare the 3D hybrid-encoding method with Fourier encoding and other non-Fourier encoding methods. RESULTS: An optimized low RF amplitude was obtained in the phantom experiments. Using the optimized specially tailored RF pulses, both the watermelon and knee experiments demonstrated that the proposed method was able to preserve more image details than the conventional 3D Fourier-encoded methods at acceleration factors of 3.1 and 2.0. Additionally, SNR was improved because of no additional gradients and 3D volume encoding, when compared with single-slice scanning without 3D encoding. Simulation results demonstrated that the proposed scheme was superior to the conventional Fourier encoding method, and obtained comparative performance with other non-Fourier encoding methods in preserving details. CONCLUSIONS: We developed a practical hybrid-encoding method for 3D MRI with specially tailored RF pulses of phase-scrambled RF excitation. The proposed method improves image SNR and detail preservation compared with the conventional Fourier encoding methods. Furthermore, our proposed method exhibits superior performance in terms of detail preservation, compared with the conventional Fourier encoding method.

Three-dimensional black-blood multi-contrast carotid imaging using compressed sensing: a repeatability study.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this work is to evaluate the repeatability of a compressed sensing (CS) accelerated multi-contrast carotid protocol at 3 T. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twelve volunteers and eight patients with carotid disease were scanned on a 3 T MRI scanner using a CS accelerated 3-D black-blood multi-contrast protocol which comprises T 1w, T 2w and PDw without CS, and with a CS factor of 1.5 and 2.0. The volunteers were scanned twice, the lumen/wall area and wall thickness were measured for each scan. Eight patients were scanned once, the inter/intra-observer reproducibility of the measurements was calculated. RESULTS: In the repeated volunteer scans, the interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for the wall area measurement using a CS factor of 1.5 in PDw, T 1w and T 2w were 0.95, 0.81, and 0.97, respectively. The ICC for lumen area measurement using a CS factor of 1.5 in PDw, T 1w and T 2w were 0.96, 0.92, and 0.96, respectively. In patients, the ICC for inter/intra-observer measurements of lumen/wall area, and wall thickness were all above 0.81 in all sequences. CONCLUSION: The results show a CS accelerated 3-D black-blood multi-contrast protocol is a robust and reproducible method for carotid imaging. Future protocol design could use CS to reduce the scanning time.

Feasibility of 3D navigator-triggered magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography with combined parallel imaging and compressed sensing reconstruction at 3T.

PURPOSE: To assess the feasibility of 3D navigator-triggered magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) with combined parallel imaging (PI) and compressed sensing (CS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: With Institutional Review Board approval, 30 consecutive patients who underwent MRCP for suspected pancreaticobiliary disease were prospectively recruited. All patients underwent 3D navigator-triggered MRCP with conventional PI alone, and with combined PI and CS using a 3T machine. The acquisition time and relative duct-to-periductal contrast ratios (RCs) at three biliary segments were quantitatively compared between the two MRCP methods. Qualitative image parameters were independently evaluated by two blinded radiologists, and were compared between two methods using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. RESULTS: The mean acquisition time of MRCP with combined PI and CS (131.87 ± 33.60 sec) was significantly shorter compared with that of MRCP with PI (253.63 ± 56.08 sec; P < 0.001). The RC obtained using MRCP with combined PI and CS at two segments was slightly lower compared to that obtained using MRCP with PI (P = 0.007 and 0.002). Both reviewers found no significant differences in duct visualization, overall image quality, and degree of artifacts between the two methods (P ≥ 0.063; P = 0.637; and P = 0.752, respectively). Lesion conspicuity and confidence in duct abnormalities were comparable between two MRCP methods in both readers (P = 0.564 and P > 0.999). CONCLUSION: Combined PI and CS reconstruction is feasible for 3D navigator-triggered MRCP, providing image quality comparable to that of MRCP with PI alone, in about half the acquisition time. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2 Technical Efficacy: Stage 1 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2017;46:1289-1297.

Three-dimensional black-blood T2 mapping with compressed sensing and data-driven parallel imaging in the carotid artery.

PURPOSE: To develop a 3D black-blood T2 mapping sequence with a combination of compressed sensing (CS) and parallel imaging (PI) for carotid wall imaging. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 3D black-blood fast-spin-echo (FSE) sequence for T2 mapping with CS and PI was developed and validated. Phantom experiments were performed to assess T2 accuracy using a Eurospin Test Object, with different combination of CS and PI acceleration factors. A 2D multi-echo FSE sequence was used as a reference to evaluate the accuracy. The concordance correlation coefficient and Bland-Altman statistics were calculated. Twelve volunteers were scanned twice to determine the repeatability of the sequence and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was reported. Wall-lumen sharpness was calculated for different CS and PI combinations. Six patients with carotid stenosis >50% were scanned with optimised sequence. The T2 maps were compared with multi-contrast images. RESULTS: Phantom scans showed good correlation in T2 measurement between current and reference sequence (r=0.991). No significant difference was found between different combination of CS and PI accelerations (p=0.999). Volunteer scans showed good repeatability of T2 measurement (ICC: 0.93, 95% CI 0.84-0.97). The mean T2 of the healthy wall was 48.0±9.5ms. Overall plaque T2 values from patients were 54.9±12.2ms. Recent intraplaque haemorrhage and fibrous tissue have higher T2 values than the mean plaque T2 values (88.1±6.8ms and 62.7±9.3ms, respectively). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the feasibility of combining CS and PI for accelerating 3D T2 mapping in the carotid artery, with accurate T2 measurements and good repeatability.

Imaging near metal: The impact of extreme static local field gradients on frequency encoding processes.

PURPOSE: Magnetic resonance imaging capabilities in the direct vicinity of metallic devices have substantially improved with the recent development of three-dimensional multispectral imaging (3D-MSI) methods. When imaging near metallic hardware, the bulk image distortions in 3D-MSI techniques are reduced to the single-pixel level. However, commonly utilized MSI techniques are ultimately limited by frequency-encoding processes and reveal a class of residual intensity-based susceptibility artifacts that have yet to be formally analyzed. METHODS: Empirical measurements and simulation techniques are utilized to study the static local magnetic field gradients induced by metal implants and their general impact on frequency-encoding processes. The specific consequences of these gradients on 3D-MSI approaches are also analyzed using empirical and simulated approaches. RESULTS: Close agreements between empirical and simulated measurements clearly demonstrate the effects of strong local gradients on frequency-encoded imaging capabilities near metallic implants. CONCLUSIONS: 3D-MSI techniques can enable substantially enhanced magnetic resonance imaging capabilities near metallic implants. However, strong local static field gradients generate residual artifacts whose direct mitigation are ultimately limited by frequency encoding processes. Applications of 3D encoding strategies or additional post processing may be required to further reduce residual artifacts in multispectral images near metal implants.

Prospective and retrospective high order eddy current mitigation for diffusion weighted echo planar imaging.

PURPOSE: The proposed method is aimed at reducing eddy current (EC) induced distortion in diffusion weighted echo planar imaging, without the need to perform further image coregistration between diffusion weighted and T2 images. These ECs typically have significant high order spatial components that cannot be compensated by preemphasis. THEORY AND METHODS: High order ECs are first calibrated at the system level in a protocol independent fashion. The resulting amplitudes and time constants of high order ECs can then be used to calculate imaging protocol specific corrections. A combined prospective and retrospective approach is proposed to apply correction during data acquisition and image reconstruction. RESULTS: Various phantom, brain, body, and whole body diffusion weighted images with and without the proposed method are acquired. Significantly reduced image distortion and misregistration are consistently seen in images with the proposed method compared with images without. CONCLUSION: The proposed method is a powerful (e.g., effective at 48 cm field of view and 30 cm slice coverage) and flexible (e.g., compatible with other image enhancements and arbitrary scan plane) technique to correct high order ECs induced distortion and misregistration for various diffusion weighted echo planar imaging applications, without the need for further image post processing, protocol dependent prescan, or sacrifice in signal-to-noise ratio.

Reducing localized signal fluctuation in fMRI using spectral-spatial fat saturation.

Conventional 1D, spatially nonselective fat saturation can generate uncrushed fat signals in areas far outside the imaging slice where crushers are weak because of reduced gradient linearity. These fat signals can corrupt in-slice water signal, and in functional MRI, they can manifest themselves as artifacts such as clouds in image background or localized signal fluctuation over time. In this article, a spectral-spatial radiofrequency pulse is proposed to replace the conventional, spatially nonselective fat saturation pulse. The advantage of the proposed method is that fat protons far outside the image slice would not be excited because of the spatial selectivity, thereby removing the root cause of the fat aliasing artifacts. The proposed method also preserves thin slice capability, pulse duration, and fat suppression performance of the conventional method. Bloch simulation and human volunteer results show that the method is effective in reducing the fat aliasing artifacts seen in functional MRI.

Reduced field-of-view excitation using second-order gradients and spatial-spectral radiofrequency pulses.

The performance of multidimensional spatially selective radiofrequency (RF) pulses is often limited by their long duration. In this article, high-order, nonlinear gradients are exploited to reduce multidimensional RF pulse length. Specifically, by leveraging the multidimensional spatial dependence of second-order gradients, a two-dimensional spatial-spectral RF pulse is designed to achieve three-dimensional spatial selectivity, i.e., to excite a circular region-of-interest in a thin slice for reduced field-of-view imaging. Compared to conventional methods that use three-dimensional RF pulses and linear gradients, the proposed method requires only two-dimensional RF pulses, and thus can significantly shorten the RF pulses and/or improve excitation accuracy. The proposed method has been validated through Bloch equation simulations and phantom experiments on a commercial 3.0T MRI scanner.

Improved correction for gradient nonlinearity effects in diffusion-weighted imaging.

PURPOSE: To provide an improved correction for gradient nonlinearity (GN) effects in diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). These effects produce spatially varying apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), a result that will be significant in large field-of-view imaging, and may be confounded by distortion and concomitant fields related to the DWI acquisition. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The effect of more accurate gradient field maps on GN correction (GNC) of ADC was evaluated. A simulation compared GN effects in commonly imaged anatomy. A temperature-controlled phantom was imaged at positions 0 cm and 11 cm from isocenter and in two whole-body MRI systems at 1.5T with different patient bore diameters (55 cm and 60 cm). Varying correction methods were applied to determine the errors from spatial variance and interscanner reproducibility. RESULTS: As compared to conventional fifth-order spherical harmonics, a seventh-order GNC improved ADC accuracy by 1%. The combination of GNC with a dual-spin-echo pulse sequence and a retrospective concomitant field correction reduced ADC error due to spatial variance from 9.5% to 1.8% (55 cm bore) and from 4.2% to 1.8% (60 cm bore). The error in ADC attributed to interscanner reproducibility was reduced from 5.8% to 0.15% (at isocenter) and from 10% to 0.63% (11 cm from isocenter). CONCLUSION: GNC in DWI improved spatial accuracy and interscanner reproducibility of ADC.

Accelerated MR imaging using compressive sensing with no free parameters.

We describe and evaluate a robust method for compressive sensing MRI reconstruction using an iterative soft thresholding framework that is data-driven, so that no tuning of free parameters is required. The approach described here combines a Nesterov type optimal gradient scheme for iterative update along with standard wavelet-based adaptive denoising methods, resulting in a leaner implementation compared with the nonlinear conjugate gradient method. Tests with T2 weighted brain data and vascular 3D phase contrast data show that the image quality of reconstructions is comparable with those from an empirically tuned nonlinear conjugate gradient approach. Statistical analysis of image quality scores for multiple datasets indicates that the iterative soft thresholding approach as presented here may improve the robustness of the reconstruction and the image quality, when compared with nonlinear conjugate gradient that requires manual tuning for each dataset. A data-driven approach as illustrated in this article should improve future clinical applicability of compressive sensing image reconstruction.

Considerations in high-resolution skeletal muscle diffusion tensor imaging using single-shot echo planar imaging with stimulated-echo preparation and sensitivity encoding.

Previous studies have shown that skeletal muscle diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can noninvasively probe changes in the muscle fiber architecture and microstructure in diseased and damaged muscles. However, DTI fiber reconstruction in small muscles and in muscle regions close to aponeuroses and tendons remains challenging because of partial volume effects. Increasing the spatial resolution of skeletal muscle single-shot diffusion-weighted echo planar imaging (DW-EPI) can be hindered by the inherently low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of muscle DW-EPI because of the short muscle T(2) and the high sensitivity of single-shot EPI to off-resonance effects and T(2)* blurring. In this article, eddy current-compensated diffusion-weighted stimulated-echo preparation is combined with sensitivity encoding (SENSE) to maintain good SNR properties and to reduce the sensitivity to distortions and T(2)* blurring in high-resolution skeletal muscle single-shot DW-EPI. An analytical framework is developed to optimize the reduction factor and diffusion weighting time to achieve maximum SNR. Arguments for the selection of the experimental parameters are then presented considering the compromise between SNR, B(0)-induced distortions, T(2)* blurring effects and tissue incoherent motion effects. On the basis of the selected parameters in a high-resolution skeletal muscle single-shot DW-EPI protocol, imaging protocols at lower acquisition matrix sizes are defined with matched bandwidth in the phase-encoding direction and SNR. In vivo results show that high-resolution skeletal muscle DTI with minimized sensitivity to geometric distortions and T(2)* blurring is feasible using the proposed methodology. In particular, a significant benefit is demonstrated from a reduction in partial volume effects for resolving multi-pennate muscles and muscles with small cross-sections in calf muscle DTI.

Improving GRAPPA using cross-sampled autocalibration data.

In conventional generalized autocalibrating partially parallel acquisitions, the autocalibration signal (ACS) lines are acquired with a frequency-encoding direction in parallel to other undersampled lines. In this study, a cross sampling method is proposed to acquire the ACS lines orthogonal to the undersampled lines. This cross sampling method increases the amount of calibration data along the direction, where k-space is undersampled, and especially improves the calibration accuracy when a small number of ACS lines are acquired. The cross sampling method is implemented with swapped frequency and phase encoding gradients. In addition, an iterative coregistration method is also developed to correct the inconsistency between the ACS and undersampled data, which are acquired separately in two orthogonal directions. The same calibration and reconstruction procedure as conventional generalized autocalibrating partially parallel acquisitions is then applied to the corrected data to recover the unacquired k-space data and obtain the final image. Reconstruction results from simulations, phantom and in vivo human brain experiments have distinctly demonstrated that the proposed method, named cross-sampled generalized autocalibrating partially parallel acquisitions, can effectively reduce the aliasing artifacts of conventional generalized autocalibrating partially parallel acquisitions when very few ACS lines are acquired, especially at high outer k-space reduction factors.

Accelerated diffusion spectrum imaging in the human brain using compressed sensing.

We developed a novel method to accelerate diffusion spectrum imaging using compressed sensing. The method can be applied to either reduce acquisition time of diffusion spectrum imaging acquisition without losing critical information or to improve the resolution in diffusion space without increasing scan time. Unlike parallel imaging, compressed sensing can be applied to reconstruct a sub-Nyquist sampled dataset in domains other than the spatial one. Simulations of fiber crossings in 2D and 3D were performed to systematically evaluate the effect of compressed sensing reconstruction with different types of undersampling patterns (random, gaussian, Poisson disk) and different acceleration factors on radial and axial diffusion information. Experiments in brains of healthy volunteers were performed, where diffusion space was undersampled with different sampling patterns and reconstructed using compressed sensing. Essential information on diffusion properties, such as orientation distribution function, diffusion coefficient, and kurtosis is preserved up to an acceleration factor of R = 4.

Joint design of spoke trajectories and RF pulses for parallel excitation.

The spoke trajectory is often used in designing multidimensional RF pulses for applications requiring thin slice selection and in-slice modulation. Ideally, a full set of spokes covering the whole k-space are desired to generate a given excitation pattern. In practice, however, only a small number of spokes can be used due to the RF pulse length limitation. The spoke locations are, therefore, critical to the performance of the resulting RF pulse and should be in principle optimized jointly with the RF pulse for a given excitation pattern and transmit sensitivities. In this work, we formulate the joint design problem as an optimal spoke selection problem based on the small-tip-angle RF pulse design. A sequential selection based algorithm with recursive cost function evaluation is proposed to seek optimized spoke locations to minimize the excitation error. Bloch equation simulations and experimental results on a 3 Tesla scanner equipped with a two-channel parallel excitation system demonstrate that the proposed method can produce significantly smaller excitation error than conventional methods with high computational efficiency.

Reduction of artifacts in T2 -weighted PROPELLER in high-field preclinical imaging.

A simple technique is implemented for correction of artifacts arising from nonuniform T(2) -weighting of k-space data in fast spin echo-based PROPELLER (periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction). An additional blade with no phase-encoding gradients is acquired to generate the scaling factor used for the correction. Results from simulations and phantom experiments, as well as in vivo experiments in free-breathing mice, demonstrate the advantages of the proposed method. This technique is developed specifically for high-field imaging applications where T(2) decay is rapid.

Cross-sampled GRAPPA for parallel MRI.

As one widely-used parallel-imaging method, Generalized Auto-calibrating Partially Parallel Acquisitions (GRAPPA) technique reconstructs the missing k-space data by a linear combination of the acquired data using a set of weights. These weights are usually derived from auto-calibration signal (ACS) lines that are acquired in parallel to the reduced lines. In this paper, a cross sampling method is proposed to acquire the ACS lines orthogonal to the reduced lines. This cross sampling method increases the amount of calibration data along the direction that the k-space is undersampled and thus improves the calibration accuracy, especially when a small number of ACS lines are acquired. Both phantom and in vivo experiments demonstrate that the proposed method, named cross-sampled GRAPPA (CS-GRAPPA), can effectively reduce the aliasing artifacts of GRAPPA when high acceleration is desired.

Robust 2D phase correction for echo planar imaging under a tight field-of-view.

Nyquist ghost artifacts are a serious issue in echo planar imaging. These artifacts primarily originate from phase difference between even and odd echo images and can be removed or reduced using phase correction methods. The commonly used 1D phase correction can only correct phase difference along readout axis. 2D correction is, therefore, necessary when phase difference presents along both readout and phase encoding axes. However, existing 2D methods have several unaddressed issues that affect their practicality. These issues include uncharacterized noise behavior, image artifact due to unoptimized phase estimation, Gibbs ringing artifact when directly applying to partial k(y) data, and most seriously a new image artifact under tight field-of-view (i.e., field-of-view slightly smaller than object size). All these issues are addressed in this article. Specifically, theoretical analysis of noise amplification and effect of phase estimation error is provided, and tradeoff between noise and ghost is studied. A new 2D phase correction method with improved polynomial fitting, joint homodyne processing and phase correction, compatibility with tight field-of-view is then proposed. Various results show that the proposed method can robustly generate images free of Nyquist ghosts and other image artifacts even in oblique scans or when cross-term eddy current terms are significant.

Multishot PROPELLER for high-field preclinical MRI.

With the development of numerous mouse models of cancer, there is a tremendous need for an appropriate imaging technique to study the disease evolution. High-field T(2)-weighted imaging using PROPELLER (Periodically Rotated Overlapping ParallEL Lines with Enhanced Reconstruction) MRI meets this need. The two-shot PROPELLER technique presented here provides (a) high spatial resolution, (b) high contrast resolution, and (c) rapid and noninvasive imaging, which enables high-throughput, longitudinal studies in free-breathing mice. Unique data collection and reconstruction makes this method robust against motion artifacts. The two-shot modification introduced here retains more high-frequency information and provides higher signal-to-noise ratio than conventional single-shot PROPELLER, making this sequence feasible at high fields, where signal loss is rapid. Results are shown in a liver metastases model to demonstrate the utility of this technique in one of the more challenging regions of the mouse, which is the abdomen.

Intravoxel partially coherent motion technique: characterization of the anisotropy of skeletal muscle microvasculature.

PURPOSE: To propose a reformulation of the intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) technique exploiting the low b-value diffusion-weighted imaging regime that can characterize microcirculation of tissues perfused with partially coherent blood flow. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The new methodology, termed intravoxel partially coherent motion (IVPCM) technique, is suitable for probing microcirculation in tissues with ordered microvasculature, such as skeletal muscle. We employ a subvoxel model utilizing a randomly oriented bundle of straight vessels whose orientation statistics are characterized by a Fisher axial distribution with concentration parameter K quantifying the anisotropy of the distribution (K = 0 indicates isotropic capillary orientation). The methodology is first validated with a proof-of-principle phantom experiment and is then applied to analyze the microvasculature of human calf muscle at rest. RESULTS: The microcirculatory part of the diffusion-weighted signal at b < 200 s/mm(2) is anisotropic. The variation of the diffusion-weighted signal with b-value exhibits stronger deviation from the expected monoexponential decay when the diffusion encoding gradient is applied parallel to the mean myofiber direction in the calf muscle of three healthy volunteers. The application of the model to data from the medial gastrocnemius and the soleus of the three volunteers gives results within the expected range for the mean microvascular volume fraction, the mean microflow velocity, and the parameter K. CONCLUSION: The proposed methodology has the capability of characterizing the anisotropy of the capillary network in vivo in a manner analogous to the capability of high b-value diffusion to characterize the anisotropy of muscle fibers.

Perturbation analysis of the effects of B1+ errors on parallel excitation in MRI.

Design of RF pulses for parallel excitation using phased array transmit coils in MRI requires the B1+ maps that are estimated from B1+ mapping experiments. This paper characterizes the effects of B1+ mapping errors on the resulting excitation pattern using a small perturbation analysis based on linearization of the Bloch equation. The accuracy of the proposed perturbation analysis is validated by Bloch equation simulations based on experimental B1+ maps. The perturbation analysis builds a transparent connection between the B1+ mapping errors and the resulting excitation errors, and can be used to study the robustness of the designed RF pulses to B1+ mapping errors. The proposed method may also supply useful metrics for designing RF pulses that are robust to B1+ mapping errors.