DIfferential Subsampling with Cartesian Ordering (DISCO): a high spatio-temporal resolution Dixon imaging sequence...

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Radiology
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Background:

• Multiphasic contrast-enhanced MRI is crucial for diagnosing abdominal pathologies.
• Achieving high temporal and spatial resolution simultaneously remains a challenge in abdominal MRI.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a novel multiphasic contrast-enhanced MRI technique called DIfferential Sub-sampling with Cartesian Ordering (DISCO) for abdominal imaging.
• To assess DISCO's performance in terms of image quality, fat suppression, artifact severity, and temporal resolution.

Main Methods:

• A three-dimensional, variable density pseudo-random k-space segmentation scheme was employed.
• A Dixon-based fat-water separation algorithm was integrated for robust fat suppression.
• 11 patients underwent abdominal MRI using both DISCO and a standard 3D SPGR-Dixon (LAVA FLEX) sequence at 3 Tesla.

Main Results:

• No significant differences were found in fat suppression quality, artifact severity, or overall image quality between DISCO and LAVA FLEX (P > 0.05).
• DISCO successfully captured the angiographic and hepatic arterial phases in all 11 patients.
• Typical spatial resolution of 1.1 × 1.5 × 3 mm over 60 slices was achieved with a temporal resolution of 4-5 seconds.

Conclusions:

• DISCO is an effective MRI method for abdominal imaging, offering high spatio-temporal resolution.
• The technique excels at capturing the rapid dynamics of abdominal pathologies, such as hyperenhancing hepatic lesions.
• DISCO provides a valuable alternative for multiphasic abdominal MRI, comparable to existing clinical sequences.