| 1. |
- Afzali, Maryam, et al.
(författare)
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MR Fingerprinting with b-Tensor Encoding for Simultaneous Quantification of Relaxation and Diffusion in a Single Scan
- 2022
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Ingår i: Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. - : Wiley. - 0740-3194 .- 1522-2594. ; 88:5, s. 2043-2057
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: Although both relaxation and diffusion imaging are sensitive to tissue microstructure, studies have reported limited sensitivity and robustness of using relaxation or conventional diffusion alone to characterize tissue microstructure. Recently, it has been shown that tensor-valued diffusion encoding and joint relaxation-diffusion quantification enable more reliable quantification of compartment-specific microstructural properties. However, scan times to acquire such data can be prohibitive. Here, we aim to simultaneously quantify relaxation and diffusion using MR fingerprinting (MRF) and b-tensor encoding in a clinically feasible time. Methods: We developed multidimensional MRF scans (mdMRF) with linear and spherical b-tensor encoding (LTE and STE) to simultaneously quantify T1, T2, and ADC maps from a single scan. The image quality, accuracy, and scan efficiency were compared between the mdMRF using LTE and STE. Moreover, we investigated the robustness of different sequence designs to signal errors and their impact on the maps. Results: T1 and T2 maps derived from the mdMRF scans have consistently high image quality, while ADC maps are sensitive to different sequence designs. Notably, the fast imaging steady state precession (FISP)-based mdMRF scan with peripheral pulse gating provides the best ADC maps that are free of image distortion and shading artifacts. Conclusion: We demonstrated the feasibility of quantifying T1, T2, and ADC maps simultaneously from a single mdMRF scan in around 24 s/slice. The map quality and quantitative values are consistent with the reference scans.
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| 2. |
- Andersen, Mads, et al.
(författare)
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Accuracy investigations for volumetric head-motion navigators with and without EPI at 7 T
- 2022
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Ingår i: Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. - : Wiley. - 0740-3194 .- 1522-2594. ; 88:3, s. 1198-1211
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: Accuracy investigation of volumetric navigators for motion correction, with emphasis on geometric EPI distortions at ultrahigh field. Methods: High-resolution Dixon images were collected in different head positions and reconstructed to water, fat, T2*, and B0 maps. Resolution reduction was performed, and the T2* and B0 maps were used to apply effects of TE and EPI distortions to simulate various volumetric water and fat navigators. Registrations of the simulated navigators were compared with registrations of the original high-resolution images. Results: Increased accuracy was observed with increased spatial resolution for non-EPI navigators. When using EPI, the distortions had a negative effect on registration accuracy, which was most noticeable for high-resolution navigators. Parallel imaging helped to alleviate those caveats to a certain extent, and 5-fold acceleration gave close to similar accuracy to non-EPI in most cases. Shortening the TE by partial Fourier sampling was shown to be mostly beneficial, except for water navigators with long readout durations. The EPI blip direction had an influence on navigator accuracy, and positive blip gradient polarities (yielding mostly image stretching frontally) typically gave the best accuracy for water navigators, whereas no clear recommendation could be made for fat navigators. Generally, fat EPI navigators had lower accuracy than water EPI navigators with otherwise similar parameters. Conclusions: Echo planar imaging has been widely used for MRI navigators, but the induced distortions reduce navigator accuracy at ultrahigh field. This study can help protocol optimization and guide the complex tradeoff between resolution and EPI acceleration in navigator parameter setup.
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| 3. |
- Avventi, Enrico, et al.
(författare)
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Projection-based 3D/2D registration for prospective motion correction.
- 2020
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Ingår i: Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. - : Wiley. - 0740-3194 .- 1522-2594. ; 84:3, s. 1534-1542
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PURPOSE: To develop a registration method that is capable of estimating the full range of rigid body motion from three orthogonal collapsed images of the head. These images can be obtained using the collapsed FatNav, a previously introduced navigator for prospective motion correction. It combines a short duration with wide compatibility with different main sequences due to its robustness against spin history effects.THEORY AND METHODS: A projection-based 3D/2D registration method is presented and then modified to take into account the peculiarities of the collapsed FatNav. Water/fat separated volumes were used in simulations to assess the accuracy of the proposed method at different resolutions by comparison with high-resolution 3D registration. The sensitivity with respect to masking strategies and starting motion parameters was investigated. Finally, prospective experiments with a healthy volunteer were performed with different types of motion patterns. A PROPELLER main sequence was chosen to compare the prospective correction with PROPELLER's own retrospective correction.RESULTS: In the simulations the proposed method has shown comparable performance to 3D registration. Furthermore, evidence of its robustness with respect to masking strategies and starting motion parameters was presented. The combination with collapsed FatNav has performed well in correcting most of the motion artifacts prospectively with improved image quality compared to only using PROPELLER's retrospective motion correction.CONCLUSIONS: The proposed 3D/2D registration together with collapsed FatNav is characterized by a good balance between navigator duration and estimate accuracy. Further work is needed to validate the method across a wider variety of subject anatomies.
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| 4. |
- Berglund, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Fat/water separation in k-space with real-valued estimates and its combination with POCS.
- 2020
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Ingår i: Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. - : Wiley. - 0740-3194 .- 1522-2594. ; 83:2, s. 653-661
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PURPOSE: To develop reconstruction methods for improved image quality of chemical shift displacement-corrected fat/water imaging combined with partial Fourier acquisition.THEORY: Fat/water separation in k-space enables correction of chemical shift displacement. Modeling fat and water as real-valued rather than complex improves the conditionality of the inverse problem. This advantage becomes essential for k-space separation. In this work, it was described how to perform regularized fat/water imaging with real estimates in k-space, and how fat/water imaging can be combined with partial Fourier reconstruction using Projection Onto Convex Sets (POCS).METHODS: The reconstruction methods were demonstrated on chemical shift encoded gradient echo and fast spin echo data from volunteers, acquired at 1.5 T and 3 T. Both fully sampled and partial Fourier acquisitions were made. Data was retrospectively rejected from the fully sampled dataset to evaluate POCS and homodyne reconstruction.RESULTS: Fat/water separation in k-space eliminated chemical shift displacement, while real-valued estimates considerably reduced the noise amplification compared to complex estimates. POCS reconstruction could recover high spatial frequency information in the fat and water images with lower reconstruction error than homodyne. Partial Fourier in the readout direction enabled more flexible choice of gradient echo imaging parameters, in particular image resolution.CONCLUSION: Chemical shift displacement-corrected fat/water imaging can be performed with regularization and real-valued estimates to improve image quality by reducing ill-conditioning of the inverse problem in k-space. Fat/water imaging can be combined with POCS, which offers improved image quality over homodyne reconstruction.
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| 5. |
- Berglund, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Motion-insensitive susceptibility weighted imaging.
- 2021
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Ingår i: Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. - : Wiley. - 0740-3194 .- 1522-2594. ; 86:4, s. 1970-1982
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PURPOSE: To enable SWI that is robust to severe head movement.METHODS: Prospective motion correction using a markerless optical tracker was applied to all pulse sequences. Three-dimensional gradient-echo and 3D EPI were used as reference sequences, but were expected to be sensitive to motion-induced B0 changes, as the long TE required for SWI allows phase discrepancies to accumulate between shots. Therefore, 2D interleaved snapshot EPI was investigated for motion-robust SWI and compared with conventional 2D EPI. Repeated signal averages were retrospectively corrected for motion. The sequences were evaluated at 3 T through controlled motion experiments involving two cooperative volunteers and SWI of a tumor patient.RESULTS: The performed continuous head motion was in the range of 5-8° rotations. The image quality of the 3D sequences and conventional 2D EPI was poor unless the rotational motion axis was parallel to B0 . Interleaved snapshot EPI had minimal intraslice phase discrepancies due to its small temporal footprint. Phase inconsistency between signal averages was well tolerated due to the high-pass filter effect of the SWI processing. Interleaved snapshot EPI with prospective and retrospective motion correction demonstrated similar image quality, regardless of whether motion was present. Lesion depiction was equal to 3D EPI with matching resolution.CONCLUSION: Susceptibility-based imaging can be severely corrupted by head movement despite accurate prospective motion correction. Interleaved snapshot EPI is a superior alternative for patients who are prone to move and offers SWI which is insensitive to motion when combined with prospective and retrospective motion correction.
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| 6. |
- Berglund, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Prospective motion correction for diffusion weighted EPI of the brain using an optical markerless tracker.
- 2021
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Ingår i: Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. - : Wiley. - 0740-3194 .- 1522-2594. ; 85:3, s. 1427-1440
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PURPOSE: To enable motion-robust diffusion weighted imaging of the brain using well-established imaging techniques.METHODS: An optical markerless tracking system was used to estimate and correct for rigid body motion of the head in real time during scanning. The imaging coordinate system was updated before each excitation pulse in a single-shot EPI sequence accelerated by GRAPPA with motion-robust calibration. Full Fourier imaging was used to reduce effects of motion during diffusion encoding. Subjects were imaged while performing prescribed motion patterns, each repeated with prospective motion correction on and off.RESULTS: Prospective motion correction with dynamic ghost correction enabled high quality DWI in the presence of fast and continuous motion within a 10° range. Images acquired without motion were not degraded by the prospective correction. Calculated diffusion tensors tolerated the motion well, but ADC values were slightly increased.CONCLUSIONS: Prospective correction by markerless optical tracking minimizes patient interaction and appears to be well suited for EPI-based DWI of patient groups unable to remain still including those who are not compliant with markers.
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| 7. |
- Borga, Magnus, et al.
(författare)
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Reproducibility and repeatability of MRI-based body composition analysis
- 2020
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Ingår i: Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. - : WILEY. - 0740-3194 .- 1522-2594. ; 84:6, s. 3146-3156
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose There is an absence of reproducibility studies on MRI-based body composition analysis in current literature. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the between-scanner reproducibility and the repeatability of a method for MRI-based body composition analysis. Methods Eighteen healthy volunteers of varying body mass index and adiposity were each scanned twice on five different 1.5T and 3T scanners from three different vendors. Two-point Dixon neck-to knee images and two additional liver scans were acquired with similar protocols. Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) volume, abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (ASAT) volume, thigh muscle volume, and muscle fat infiltration (MFI) in the thigh muscle were measured. Liver proton density fat fraction (PDFF) was assessed using two different methods, the scanner vendors 6-point method and an in-house 2-point method. Within-scanner test-retest repeatability and between-scanner reproducibility were calculated using analysis of variance. Results Repeatability coefficients were 13 centiliters (cl) (VAT), 24 cl (ASAT), 17 cl (total thigh muscle volume), 0.53% (MFI), and 1.27-1.37% for liver PDFF. Reproducibility coefficients were 24 cl (VAT), 42 cl (ASAT), 31 cl (total thigh muscle volume), 1.44% (MFI), and 2.37-2.40% for liver PDFF. Conclusion For all measures except MFI, the within-scanner repeatability explained much of the overall reproducibility. The two methods for measuring liver fat had similar reproducibility. This study showed that the investigated method eliminates effects due to scanner differences. The results can be used for power calculations in clinical studies or to better understand the scanner-induced variability in clinical applications.
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| 8. |
- Deoni, Sean C.L., et al.
(författare)
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Simultaneous high-resolution T2-weighted imaging and quantitative T2 mapping at low magnetic field strengths using a multiple TE and multi-orientation acquisition approach
- 2022
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Ingår i: Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. - : Wiley. - 0740-3194 .- 1522-2594. ; 88:3, s. 1273-1281
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: Low magnetic field systems provide an important opportunity to expand MRI to new and diverse clinical and research study populations. However, a fundamental limitation of low field strength systems is the reduced SNR compared to 1.5 or 3T, necessitating compromises in spatial resolution and imaging time. Most often, images are acquired with anisotropic voxels with low through-plane resolution, which provide acceptable image quality with reasonable scan times, but can impair visualization of subtle pathology. Methods: Here, we describe a super-resolution approach to reconstruct high-resolution isotropic T2-weighted images from a series of low-resolution anisotropic images acquired in orthogonal orientations. Furthermore, acquiring each image with an incremented TE allows calculations of quantitative T2 images without time penalty. Results: Our approach is demonstrated via phantom and in vivo human brain imaging, with simultaneous 1.5 × 1.5 × 1.5 mm3 T2-weighted and quantitative T2 maps acquired using a clinically feasible approach that combines three acquisition that require approximately 4-min each to collect. Calculated T2 values agree with reference multiple TE measures with intraclass correlation values of 0.96 and 0.85 in phantom and in vivo measures, respectively, in line with previously reported brain T2 values at 150 mT, 1.5T, and 3T. Conclusion: Our multi-orientation and multi-TE approach is a time-efficient method for high-resolution T2-weighted images for anatomical visualization with simultaneous quantitative T2 imaging for increased sensitivity to tissue microstructure and chemical composition.
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| 9. |
- Emin, Sevgi, et al.
(författare)
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Imaging-based assessment of fatty acid composition in human bone marrow adipose tissue at 7 T : Method comparison and in vivo feasibility
- 2023
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Ingår i: Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. - : Wiley. - 0740-3194 .- 1522-2594. ; 90:1, s. 240-249
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: To demonstrate the feasibility and accuracy of chemical shift–encoded imaging of the fatty acid composition (FAC) of human bone marrow adipose tissue at 7 T, and to determine suitable image-acquisition parameters using simulations. Methods: The noise performance of FAC estimation was investigated using simulations with a range of inter-echo time, and accuracy was assessed using a phantom experiment. Furthermore, one knee of 8 knee-healthy subjects (ages 35–54 years) was imaged, and the fractions of saturated fatty acids (SFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) were mapped. Values were compared between reconstruction methods, and between anatomical regions. Results: Based on simulations, ΔTE = 0.6 ms was chosen. The phantom experiment demonstrated high accuracy of especially SFA using a constrained reconstruction model (slope = 1.1, average bias = −0.2%). The lowest accuracy was seen for PUFA using a free model (slope = 2.0, average bias = 9.0%). For in vivo images, the constrained model resulted in lower intersubject variation compared with the free model (e.g., in the femoral shaft, the SFA percent-point range was within 1.0% [vs. 3.0%]). Furthermore, significant regional FAC differences were detected. For example, using the constrained approach, the femoral SFA in the medial condyle was lower compared with the shaft (median [range]: 27.9% [27.1%, 28.4%] vs. 32.5% [31.8%, 32.8%]). Conclusion: Bone marrow adipose tissue FAC quantification using chemical-shift encoding is feasible at 7 T. Both the noise performance and accuracy of the technique are superior using a constrained signal model.
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| 10. |
- Führes, Tobit, et al.
(författare)
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Echo time dependence of biexponential and triexponential intravoxel incoherent motion parameters in the liver
- 2022
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Ingår i: Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. - : Wiley. - 0740-3194 .- 1522-2594. ; 87:2, s. 859-871
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: Intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) studies are performed with different acquisition protocols. Comparing them requires knowledge of echo time (TE) dependencies. The TE-dependence of the biexponential perfusion fraction f is well-documented, unlike that of its triexponential counterparts f1 and f2 and the biexponential and triexponential pseudodiffusion coefficients D*, (Formula presented.), and (Formula presented.). The purpose was to investigate the TE-dependence of these parameters and to check whether the triexponential pseudodiffusion compartments are associated with arterial and venous blood. Methods: Fifteen healthy volunteers (19-58 y; mean: 24.7 y) underwent diffusion-weighted imaging of the abdomen with 24 b-values (0.2-800 s/mm2) at TEs of 45, 60, 75, and 90 ms. Regions of interest (ROIs) were manually drawn in the liver. One set of bi- and triexponential IVIM parameters per volunteer and TE was determined. The TE-dependence was assessed with the Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: TE-dependence was observed for f (P <.001), f1 (P =.001), and f2 (P <.001). Their median values at the four measured TEs were: f: 0.198/0.240/0.274/0.359, f1: 0.113/0.139/0.146/0.205, f2: 0.115/0.155/0.182/0.194. D, D*, (Formula presented.), and (Formula presented.) showed no significant TE-dependence. Their values were: diffusion coefficient D (10−4 mm2/s): 9.45/9.63/9.75/9.41, biexponential D* (10−2 mm2/s): 5.26/5.52/6.13/5.82, triexponential (Formula presented.) (10−2 mm2/s): 1.73/2.91/2.25/2.51, triexponential (Formula presented.) (mm2/s): 0.478/1.385/0.616/0.846. Conclusion: f1 and f2 show similar TE-dependence as f, ie, increase with rising TE; an effect that must be accounted for when comparing different studies. The diffusion and pseudodiffusion coefficients might be compared without TE correction. Because of the similar TE-dependence of f1 and f2, the triexponential pseudodiffusion compartments are most probably not associated to venous and arterial blood.
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