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Time Efficient 3D Radial UTE Sampling with Fully Automatic Delay Compensation on a Clinical 3T MR Scanner
Karl-Heinz Herrmann1, Martin Krämer1, Jürgen R Reichenbach1
1Medical Physics Group, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany.
Plos One
|March 15, 2016
Summary
This study introduces a faster 3D ultra-short echo-time (UTE) MRI sequence with automated artifact correction. This innovation significantly reduces scan times for high-quality imaging, benefiting various clinical applications like lung imaging.
Area of Science:
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
- Medical Physics
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Radial 3D ultra-short echo-time (UTE) sequences are valuable for imaging tissues with short T2* but often suffer from long acquisition times and artifacts.
- Gradient delays in MRI sequences can lead to significant image artifacts, necessitating accurate compensation for high-quality reconstruction.
- Existing methods for gradient delay compensation may require manual interaction or lack robustness, limiting their clinical applicability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To minimize acquisition time for radial 3D UTE sequences.
- To develop a fully automated, gradient delay compensated reconstruction method for artifact-free imaging.
- To demonstrate the clinical feasibility of the fast 3D UTE sequence, including single breath-hold lung imaging.
Main Methods:
- Implementation of a radial 3D UTE sequence (TE 60 μs) with center-out readouts and time-efficient spoiling on a 3T scanner without hardware changes.
- Development of a rapid, automated k-space phase-based calibration scan for detecting the k-space center and estimating gradient delays.
- Validation using phantom experiments and in vivo imaging of head, tibial cortical bone, feet, and lung from 6 volunteers.
Main Results:
- The automated gradient delay calibration achieved accurate delay estimations (-0.13 ± 0.45 μs difference from manual optimal delay).
- High-quality, artifact-free images were reconstructed from both phantom and in vivo data without user interaction.
- The sequence demonstrated insensitivity to motion, flow, and susceptibility artifacts, with oversampling protection against aliasing.
- Single breath-hold lung imaging was successfully demonstrated as a clinical application.
Conclusions:
- The proposed fast radial 3D UTE sequence significantly reduces acquisition time (TR ~1ms) while maintaining high image quality.
- The fully automated gradient delay compensation enables unsupervised, artifact-free image reconstruction, enhancing clinical workflow.
- This sequence is robust, versatile, and suitable for a wide range of clinical applications, including short T2* mapping and lung imaging.
