Assessment of quiet T2 weighted PROPELLER sequence in pediatric abdominal imaging

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Medical Imaging
• Acoustics

Background:

• Elevated MRI acoustic noise is linked to patient anxiety and cochlear dysfunction.
• Acoustic Reduction Technique (ART) T2 weighted (T2w) PROPELLER has shown promise in brain imaging but not yet in abdominopelvic scans.
• Evaluating ART T2w PROPELLER for pediatric abdomino-pelvic imaging is crucial for improving patient experience and diagnostic quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the image quality of ART T2w PROPELLER compared to conventional T2w PROPELLER in pediatric abdomino-pelvic MRI.
• To quantify the acoustic noise reduction achieved by the ART T2w PROPELLER sequence.
• To identify any trade-offs in image quality associated with the ART technique.

Main Methods:

• Eleven pediatric patients underwent abdomino-pelvic MRI on a 3 Tesla magnet using both standard and ART T2w PROPELLER sequences.
• Objective sound level measurements were recorded using a sound level meter and microphone.
• Statistical analysis (Mann-Whitney U test) compared acoustic levels, image ratings, and scan times, with significance set at p<0.05.

Main Results:

• ART T2w PROPELLER demonstrated significantly lower acoustic noise levels compared to the standard technique (p=0.00008).
• Both raters identified greater streak artifacts in ART T2w images (p=0.00278 and p=0.00252).
• No significant differences were observed in bile duct blurring, respiratory ghosting, pulsation, fat suppression, or hepatic parenchymal depiction.

Conclusions:

• ART T2w PROPELLER effectively reduces acoustic noise during pediatric abdomino-pelvic MRI.
• The benefit of reduced noise must be weighed against the potential increase in streak artifacts.
• Further research may explore artifact mitigation strategies for ART T2w PROPELLER in this clinical application.