A New Joint-Blade SENSE Reconstruction for Accelerated PROPELLER MRI

Area of Science:

• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
• Medical Imaging Physics
• Image Reconstruction Algorithms

Background:

• PROPELLER MRI is motion-insensitive but slow and limited in contrast.
• Parallel imaging accelerates PROPELLER MRI but can amplify noise.
• Existing methods struggle with noise amplification in accelerated PROPELLER MRI.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel reconstruction technique, multi-step joint-blade (MJB) SENSE, to mitigate noise amplification in parallel imaging accelerated PROPELLER MRI.
• To improve image quality and flexibility of PROPELLER MRI contrasts.
• To evaluate the performance of MJB SENSE in noise reduction and motion correction.

Main Methods:

• Proposed a three-step MJB SENSE reconstruction algorithm.
• Utilized sharable information within PROPELLER blades for regularization.
• Employed blade-combined images as regularization references for noise reduction.
• Resampled virtual high-frequency data for joint reconstruction of all blades.
• Evaluated MJB SENSE using simulations and in vivo T1- and T2-weighted brain MRI data.

Main Results:

• MJB SENSE significantly reduced noise amplification compared to simple single-blade (SSB) SENSE across various acceleration factors.
• Achieved increased image signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in all simulation and in vivo experiments.
• Demonstrated effectiveness in both T2-weighted and T1-weighted imaging, including sequences with short echo trains.
• Preserved the motion correction capabilities inherent to the PROPELLER technique.
• Demonstrated computational efficiency.

Conclusions:

• MJB SENSE is an effective method for reducing noise amplification in parallel imaging accelerated PROPELLER MRI.
• The technique enhances image quality and allows for more flexible contrasts, including T1-weighted imaging.
• MJB SENSE offers a computationally efficient solution for improved MRI acquisition.