Magnetic resonance imaging
-
Parallel imaging using phased array coils facilitates accelerated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy (MRS). Parallel data reconstruction requires the combination of data from individual coil elements, but limited combination algorithms currently exist for higher-order phased arrays and MRS data. Here, we present a systematic framework for identifying coil proximity-related signal inhomogeneities and noise levels in phased array coils that may affect sensitivity of parallel MRS. ⋯ SNR varied significantly as a function of voxel position (F=58.3, p<0.0001) and SNR threshold for all phased arrays (p<0.05 for 64-, 32-, and 20-channel coils). Metabolite CRLBs were dependent on the combination strategy. We demonstrate the importance of the sampling voxel position and coil proximity on overall SNR in parallel MRS data acquisition, with significant SNR improvements after selectively filtering individual spectra based on pre-determined SNR thresholds which must be optimized for each phased array coil element and volume of interest.
-
To image the entire vasculature of the brain with complete suppression of signal from background tissue using a single 3D excitation interleaved rephased/dephased multi-echo gradient echo sequence. This ensures no loss of signal from fast flow and provides co-registered susceptibility weighted images (SWI) and quantitative susceptibility maps (QSM) from the same scan. ⋯ The background tissue can be properly suppressed using the proposed interleaved MRAV sequence. One can obtain whole brain MRAV, MRA, SWI, true-SWI (or tSWI) and QSM data simultaneously from a single scan.
-
To provide whole brain grey matter (GM) to white matter (WM) contrast enhanced T1W (T1WE) images, multi-echo quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM), proton density (PD) weighted images, T1 maps, PD maps, susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI), and R2* maps with minimal misregistration in scanning times <5min. ⋯ STAGE imaging offers the potential to create a standardized brain imaging protocol providing four pieces of quantitative tissue property information and multiple types of qualitative information in just 5min.
-
To explore microcirculation features with intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) and to compare IVIM with CT perfusion imaging (CTPI) and microvessel density (MVD). ⋯ IVIM parameters can characterize microcirculation to certain extent and separate it from pure water molecular diffusion. There is fair correlation between D or ADC value and CTPI parameters or MVD, but no correlation between D* or f value and CTPI parameters or MVD except f value and BV, which is still unclear and need further clinical studies to validate.
-
Blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) contrast appears through a variation in the transverse relaxation rate of magnetic resonance signals induced by neurovascular coupling and is known to have nonlinear characteristics along echo time (TE) due to the intra-vasculature. However, the physiological causes of this nonlinearity are unclear. ⋯ For this purpose, we used a multi-echo gradient-echo echo-planar imaging sequence and developed a computational method to estimate the physiological information from the TE-dependent BOLD signals. The results showed that the average chemical exchange time in the intra-vasculature varied during stimulation, which might be the essential source of the nonlinearity.