Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 3, 2026
A 3D Quantification Technique for Liver Fat Fraction Distribution Analysis Using Dixon Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Published on: October 20, 2023
Single breath-hold multiarterial dynamic MRI of the liver at 3T using a 3D fat-suppressed keyhole technique
Hye-Suk Hong1, Hua Sun Kim, Myeong-Jin Kim
1Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Research Institute of Radiological Science, Severance Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Purpose:
To evaluate the feasibility of single breath-hold, multiarterial MRI of the liver using the THRIVE-CENTRA-keyhole technique.
Materials And Methods:
Twenty-eight patients with 63 focal hepatic lesions underwent liver MR examinations that included the three-dimensional THRIVE-CENTRA-keyhole sequence. Three or six phases were obtained for arterial phase scanning during a single breath-hold. Central k-space data were collected for each phase but the remaining peripheral k-space data were collected only once. The enhancement pattern of each hepatic lesion was analyzed according to the specific diagnosis.
Results:
Hepatocellular carcinomas (n = 24) enhancement patterns included: rim enhancing (n = 9), homogeneous (n = 7), nodule-in-nodule (n = 5), or heterogeneous (n = 3). A late peritumoral rim was observed in four (17%) of the hepatocellular carcinomas. Most metastases (17 of 18; 94%) demonstrated peripheral rim enhancement. The progressive centripetal enhancement of hemangiomas (n = 6) was clearly depicted. Focal nodular hyperplasia (n = 4) showed early homogeneous enhancement and one lesion demonstrated a central scar.
Conclusion:
The THRIVE-CENTRA-keyhole technique can be used to acquire single breath-hold, multiarterial images depicting improved enhancement characteristics of focal hepatic lesions. This technique will allow accurate timing of arterial scanning with 3D acquisition and high temporal resolution.
