Magnetization-prepared shells trajectory with automated gradient waveform design

Evaluation of hearing loss in young adults after exposure to 3.0T MRI with standard hearing protection

Standard clinical protocols require hearing protection during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for patient safety. This investigation prospectively evaluated the auditory function impact of acoustic noise exposure during a 3.0T MRI in healthy adults. Twenty-nine participants with normal hearing underwent a comprehensive audiologic assessment before and immediately following a clinically indicated head MRI. Appropriate hearing protection with earplugs (and pads) was used per standard of practice. To characterize noise hazards, current sound monitoring tools were used to measure levels of pulse sequences measured. A third audiologic test was performed if a significant threshold shift (STS) was identified at the second test, within 30 days post MRI. Some sequences produced high levels (up to 114.5 dBA; 129 dB peak SPL) that required hearing protection but did not exceed 100% daily noise dose. One participant exhibited an STS in the frequency region most highly associated with noise-induced hearing loss. No participants experienced OSHA-defined STS in either ear. Overall, OAE measures did not show evidence of changes in cochlear function after MRI. In conclusion, hearing threshold shifts associated with hearing loss or OAE level shifts reflecting underlying cochlear damage were not detected in any of the 3.0T MRI study participants who used the current recommended hearing protection.

Partial fourier shells trajectory for non-cartesian MRI

Non-Cartesian MRI acquisition has demonstrated various advantages in many clinical applications. The shells trajectory is a 3D non-Cartesian MRI acquisition technique that samples the k-space using a series of concentric shells to achieve efficient 3D isotropic acquisition. Partial Fourier acquisition is an acceleration technique that is widely used in Cartesian MRI. It exploits the conjugate symmetry of k-space measurement to reduce the number of k-space samples compared to full-k-space acquisition, without loss of spatial resolution. For a Cartesian MRI acquisition, the direction of partial Fourier acceleration is aligned either with the phase encoded or frequency encoded direction. In those cases, the underlying image matrix can be reconstructed from the undersampled k-space data using a non-iterative, homodyne reconstruction framework. However, designing a non-Cartesian acquisition trajectory that is compatible with non-iterative homodyne reconstruction is not nearly as straightforward as in the Cartesian case. One reason is the non-iterative homodyne reconstruction requires (slightly over) half of the k-space to be fully sampled. Since the direction of partial Fourier acceleration varies throughout the acquisition in the non-Cartesian trajectory, directly applying the same partial Fourier acquisition pattern (as in Cartesian acquisitions) to a non-Cartesian trajectory does not necessarily yield a continuous, physically-achievable trajectory. In this work, we develop an asymmetric shells trajectory with fully-automated trajectory and gradient waveform design to achieve partial Fourier acquisition for the shells trajectory. We then demonstrate a non-iterative image reconstruction framework for the proposed trajectory. Phantom and in vivo brain scans based on spoiled gradient echo (SPGR) shells and magnetization-prepared shells (MP-shells) were performed to test the proposed trajectory design and reconstruction method. Our phantom and in vivo results demonstrate that the proposed partial Fourier shells trajectory maintains the desirable image contrast and high sampling efficiency from the fully sampled shells, while further reducing data acquisition time.

Magnetization-prepared shells trajectory with automated gradient waveform design

PURPOSE

To develop a fully automated trajectory and gradient waveform design for the non-Cartesian shells acquisition, and to develop a magnetization-prepared (MP) shells acquisition to achieve an efficient three-dimensional acquisition with improved gray-to-white brain matter contrast.

METHODS

After reviewing the shells k-space trajectory, a novel, fully automated trajectory design is developed that allows for gradient waveforms to be automatically generated for specified acquisition parameters. Designs for two types of shells are introduced, including fully sampled and undersampled/accelerated shells. Using those designs, an MP-Shells acquisition is developed by adjusting the acquisition order of shells interleaves to synchronize the center of k-space sampling with the peak of desired gray-to-white matter contrast. The feasibility of the proposed design and MP-Shells is demonstrated using simulation, phantom, and volunteer subject experiments, and the performance of MP-Shells is compared with a clinical Cartesian magnetization-prepared rapid gradient echo acquisition.

RESULTS

Initial experiments show that MP-Shells produces excellent image quality with higher data acquisition efficiency and improved gray-to-white matter contrast-to-noise ratio (by 36%) compared with the conventional Cartesian magnetization-prepared rapid gradient echo acquisition.

CONCLUSION

We demonstrated the feasibility of a three-dimensional MP-Shells acquisition and an automated trajectory design to achieve an efficient acquisition with improved gray-to-white matter contrast. Magn Reson Med 79:2024-2035, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.