Myocardial perfusion MRI with an undersampled 3D stack-of-stars sequence

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular MRI
• Medical Imaging
• Image Reconstruction

Background:

• Dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI is crucial for assessing myocardial perfusion.
• Traditional 2D methods have limitations in volumetric coverage.
• Accelerated 3D imaging techniques are needed to improve efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility of 3D hybrid radial (stack-of-stars) MRI.
• To assess the utility of spatiotemporal total variation (TV) constrained reconstruction.
• To apply these methods for dynamic contrast-enhanced myocardial perfusion imaging.

Main Methods:

• Developed an ECG-triggered saturation recovery turboFLASH sequence with undersampled stack-of-stars sampling.
• Employed spatiotemporal TV constrained reconstruction.
• Validated through simulations, phantom studies, and three human subjects.

Main Results:

• Simulations and phantom studies revealed flip angle dependence and sensitivity to imperfect spoiling.
• Optimized flip angle selection is critical for image quality.
• Human studies demonstrated good image quality with low flip angle acquisitions, comparable to 2D radial images.

Conclusions:

• 3D stack-of-stars sampling with spatiotemporal TV reconstruction is a viable technique.
• This approach offers a promising alternative for myocardial perfusion imaging.
• Further optimization may enhance clinical utility.