Patient-initiated breath-holds in MRI: an alternative for reducing respiratory artifacts and improving image quality

To investigate MRI image quality using two different breath-hold techniques.

Thirty patients remitted for MRI, 2D-dual gradient echo acquisition of the liver conducted two separate breath-hold acquisitions in randomized order, operator-instructed and patient-initiated. The images were reviewed by two radiologists.

There were no significant differences in image quality between the two breath-hold techniques either in overall image quality or respiratory motion artifacts. This assessment was equal and concordant for both radiologists.

In terms of image quality, the patient self-initiated breath-hold was shown to be an equal alternative to conventional breath-hold imaging.