Inline automatic quality control of 2D phase-contrast flow MRI for subject-specific scan time adaptation.

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Cardiovascular MRI
• Image Quality Control

Background:

• Consistent diagnostic image quality in MRI is crucial for accurate quantitative flow measurements.
• Current MRI protocols often use fixed scan times, which may not be optimal for all subjects.
• Developing automated quality control can improve efficiency and reliability in cardiovascular MRI.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and demonstrate an inline automatic quality control system for 2D phase-contrast flow MRI.
• To achieve consistent diagnostic image quality by reaching a predetermined signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).
• To optimize scan times on a subject-specific basis.

Main Methods:

• A closed-loop feedback framework was designed, integrating image reconstruction with data acquisition.
• The system intermittently checked SNR every 20 seconds and automatically stopped acquisition upon reaching the target SNR.
• A free-breathing 2D pseudo-golden-angle spiral phase-contrast sequence was used in 10 healthy volunteers and 1 patient at 0.55T.

Main Results:

• Inline SNR calculation and automated segmentation were feasible within 20 seconds.
• Subject-specific scan times averaged 2 min 39 sec ± 67 sec (aorta) and 3 min ± 80 sec (main pulmonary artery).
• Quantitative flow measurements demonstrated low relative absolute errors (<2.1% aorta, <6.3% main pulmonary artery).

Conclusions:

• Inline quality control successfully enabled subject-specific optimized scan times.
• Consistent diagnostic image quality was ensured by achieving the target SNR.
• The study highlights the value of subject-specific scan times for improving MRI efficiency and quality.