Motion‐compensated 3D turbo spin‐echo for more robust MR intracranial vessel wall imaging. Issue 2 (25th March 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hu, Zhehao; van der Kouwe, Andre; Han, Fei; Xiao, Jiayu; Chen, Junzhou; Han, Hui; Bi, Xiaoming; Li, Debiao; Fan, Zhaoyang
• Is Part Of: Magnetic resonance in medicine. Volume 86:Issue 2(2021)
• Page Start: 637
• Page End: 647
• Publication Date: 2021-03-25
• Subjects: intracranial vessel wall -- motion compensation -- self‐gating -- vessel wall imaging -- volumetric navigators; Nuclear magnetic resonance -- Periodicals; Electron paramagnetic resonance -- Periodicals; 616.07548
• DOI: 10.1002/mrm.28777
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0740-3194

Abstract

Abstract : Purpose: (1) To investigate the effect of internal localized movement on 3DMR intracranial vessel wall imaging and (2) to develop a novel motion‐compensation approach combining volumetric navigator (vNav) and self‐gating (SG) to simultaneously compensate for bulk and localized movements. Methods: A 3D variable‐flip‐angle turbo spin‐echo (ie, SPACE) sequence was modified to incorporate vNav and SG modules. The SG signals from the center k‐space line are acquired at the beginning of each TR to detect localized motion‐affected TRs. The vNavs from low‐resolution 3D EPI are acquired to identify bulk head motion. Fifteen healthy subjects and 3 stroke patients were recruited in this study. Overall image quality (0‐poor to 4‐excellent) and vessel wall sharpness were compared among the scenarios with and without bulk and/or localized motion and/or the proposed compensation strategies. Results: Localized motion reduced wall sharpness, which was significantly mitigated by SG (ie, outer boundary of basilar artery: 0.68 ± 0.27 vs 0.86 ± 0.17; P = .037). When motion occurred, the overall image quality and vessel wall sharpness obtained with vNav‐SG SPACE were significantly higher than those obtained with conventional SPACE (ie, basilarartery outer boundary sharpness: 0.73 ± 0.24 vs 0.94 ± 0.24; P = .033), yet comparable to those obtained in motion‐free scans (ie, basilarartery outer boundary sharpness: 0.94 ± 0.24 vs 0.96 ± 0.31; P = .815). Conclusion: Localized movements can induce considerable artifacts in intracranial vessel wall imaging. The vNav‐SG approach is capable of compensating for both bulk and localized motions.