Coil setup optimization for 2D-SENSE whole-heart coronary imaging

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Imaging
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
• Image Reconstruction

Background:

• Accelerated MRI techniques are crucial for reducing scan times in cardiac imaging.
• Sensitivity encoding (SENSE) is a common method for accelerating MRI acquisition.
• Optimizing coil configurations is essential for maximizing signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in SENSE imaging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate accelerated whole-heart coronary imaging using 2D-SENSE.
• To optimize coil configurations for maximizing SNR in 2D-SENSE coronary imaging.
• To evaluate the image quality of 2D-SENSE coronary imaging in a volunteer study.

Main Methods:

• Investigated 10 practical coil configurations with six standard coil elements.
• Assessed local SNR using phantom experiments.
• Acquired 2D-SENSE coronary images with total reduction factors of 3 and 4 in volunteer studies.

Main Results:

• A symmetric coil configuration yielded the highest SNR based on phantom experiments.
• Excellent depiction of both right and left coronary systems was achieved in all volunteers.
• Accelerated 2D-SENSE imaging with reduction factors 3 and 4 was successfully applied.

Conclusions:

• Coil configuration optimization is critical for enhancing SNR in accelerated 2D-SENSE coronary imaging.
• The developed method allows for fast and high-quality whole-heart coronary imaging.
• This technique holds promise for improved clinical cardiovascular MRI.