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Updated: Jun 17, 2026
09:30
Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Skeletal Muscle Disease
Published on: December 18, 2016
Qualitative and quantitative hard-tissue MRI with portable Halbach scanners
Jose Borreguero1, Luiz G C Santos2, Lorena Vega Cid2
1Institute for Molecular Imaging and Instrumentation (i3M), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), 46022, Valencia, Spain. pepe.morata@i3m.upv.es.
Scientific Reports
|June 15, 2026
Summary
This study shows low-cost, portable MRI can image soft and hard tissues using zero echo time (ZTE) imaging. This technology enables detailed visualization of musculoskeletal structures, improving accessibility for medical diagnostics.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Medical Imaging
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Background:
- Standard MRI struggles with imaging hard tissues like bone and cartilage.
- Low-field, portable MRI systems offer potential for increased accessibility but face challenges with field inhomogeneities.
- Zero Echo Time (ZTE) imaging is promising for visualizing tissues typically missed by conventional MRI sequences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate in-vivo imaging and quantitative relaxation mapping of soft and hard tissues using a low-cost, portable MRI scanner.
- To establish methodological foundations for artifact-mitigated ZTE imaging in low-field systems with field inhomogeneities.
- To broaden the feasibility of pulse sequences in portable low-field MRI for musculoskeletal imaging.
Main Methods:
- Developed a framework for artifact-mitigated ZTE imaging, including RF pulse calibration, an extended single-point double-shot (SPDS) protocol for simultaneous T1 and T2 mapping, and model-based reconstruction.
- Performed ZTE imaging and variable flip angle (VFA) T1 mapping on phantoms and in-vivo human knees and ankles.
- Benchmarked optimized PETRA sequence against standard RARE and STIR acquisitions.
Main Results:
- Optimized PETRA sequence produced 3D images of knees and ankles in under 5 minutes, revealing hard tissues like ligaments, tendons, cartilage, and bone.
- Extended SPDS method enabled T2 mapping, and VFA approach provided the first in-vivo T1 measurements of hard tissues at 0.064 Tesla.
- Demonstrated visualization of structures usually not visible with standard MRI sequences.
Conclusions:
- The proposed framework enables artifact-mitigated ZTE imaging and quantitative mapping in portable low-field MRI systems.
- ZTE imaging holds significant potential for quantitative and structural imaging of musculoskeletal tissues in affordable Halbach-based systems.
- This advancement broadens the application of portable MRI for detailed anatomical assessment.
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