Estimating the spatial resolution of in vivo magnetic resonance images using radiofrequency tagging pulses

The spatial resolution of magnetic resonance (MR) images is usually specified by using nominal spatial resolution, the width of the simulated point-spread function (PSF), or measurement from a resolution phantom. The accuracy of these measures is limited because they do not take into account the effects of in vivo image degradation. In this work, tag lines were used to estimate the spatial resolution of in vivo MR images. The idea of using tag lines to measure resolution was originally proposed by Wayte and Redpath (Magn Reson Imaging 1998;16:37-44), who used sinusoidal tag profiles and calculated an indirect measure of resolution called the modulation percentage. This work uses widely separated thin tag lines to directly measure the shape of the PSF and produce estimates of the PSF width in millimeters. The feasibility of estimating the spatial resolution via tag lines was evaluated using phantom images. The results show that an accurate estimate can be obtained when the tag modulation width is equal to or less than one-half of the best possible resolution. The tag lines are then used to demonstrate the asymmetry and spatial variation of spatial resolution of in vivo images acquired by using a turbo spin-echo (TSE) and a spiral sequence.