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Li Z, Miller KL, Chen X, Chiew M, Wu W. Self-navigated 3D diffusion MRI using an optimized CAIPI sampling and structured low-rank reconstruction estimated navigator. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MEDICAL IMAGING 2024; PP:1-1. [PMID: 39240738 DOI: 10.1109/tmi.2024.3454994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/08/2024]
Abstract
3D multi-slab acquisitions are an appealing approach for diffusion MRI because they are compatible with the imaging regime delivering optimal SNR efficiency. In conventional 3D multi-slab imaging, shot-to-shot phase variations caused by motion pose challenges due to the use of multi-shot k-space acquisition. Navigator acquisition after each imaging echo is typically employed to correct phase variations, which prolongs scan time and increases the specific absorption rate (SAR). The aim of this study is to develop a highly efficient, self-navigated method to correct for phase variations in 3D multi-slab diffusion MRI without explicitly acquiring navigators. The sampling of each shot is carefully designed to intersect with the central kz=0 plane of each slab, and the multi-shot sampling is optimized for self-navigation performance while retaining decent reconstruction quality. The kz=0 intersections from all shots are jointly used to reconstruct a 2D phase map for each shot using a structured low-rank constrained reconstruction that leverages the redundancy in shot and coil dimensions. The phase maps are used to eliminate the shot-to-shot phase inconsistency in the final 3D multi-shot reconstruction. We demonstrate the method's efficacy using retrospective simulations and prospectively acquired in-vivo experiments at 1.22 mm and 1.09 mm isotropic resolutions. Compared to conventional navigated 3D multi-slab imaging, the proposed self-navigated method achieves comparable image quality while shortening the scan time by 31.7% and improving the SNR efficiency by 15.5%. The proposed method produces comparable quality of DTI and white matter tractography to conventional navigated 3D multi-slab acquisition with a much shorter scan time.
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Lee CY, Mani M. 2D CAIPI accelerated 3D multi-slab diffusion weighted EPI combined with qModeL reconstruction for fast high resolution microstructure imaging. Magn Reson Imaging 2024; 111:57-66. [PMID: 38599504 PMCID: PMC11179987 DOI: 10.1016/j.mri.2024.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2024] [Revised: 04/02/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE To develop acceleration strategies for 3D multi-slab diffusion weighted imaging (3D ms-DWI) for enabling applications that require simultaneously high spatial (1 mm isotropic) and angular (> 30 directions) resolutions. METHODS 3D ms-DWI offers high SNR-efficiency, with the ability to achieve high isotropic spatial resolution, yet suffers from long scan-times for studies requiring high angular resolutions. We develop 6D k-q space acceleration strategies to reduce the scan-time. Specifically, we develop non-uniform 3D ky-kz under-sampling employing a shot-selective 2D CAIPI sampling approach. To achieve inter-shot phase-compensation, 2D navigators were employed that utilize the same CAIPI trajectory. An iterative model-based 3D multi-shot reconstruction was designed by incorporating phase into the forward encoding process. Additionally, the shot-selective non-uniform ky-kz CAIPI acceleration was randomized along the q-dimension. The 3D model-based multi-shot reconstruction is then extended to a joint reconstruction that simultaneously reconstructs all the q-space points, with the help of a spatial total variation and deep-learned q-space regularization. RESULTS The proposed reconstruction is shown to achieve adequate phase-compensation in both 2D CAIPI accelerated and additional ky-kz under-sampled cases. Using retrospective under-sampling experiments, we show that k-q accelerations close a factor of 12 can be achieved with a reconstruction error < 3% for both single and multi-shell data. This translates to a scan-time reduction by 3-fold for experiments with simultaneously high spatial and angular resolutions. CONCLUSION The proposed method facilitates the utilization of 3D ms-DWI for simultaneously high k-q resolution applications with close to 3× reduced scan-time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chu-Yu Lee
- Department of Radiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States of America
| | - Merry Mani
- Department of Radiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States of America.
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Chen X, Wu W, Chiew M. Motion compensated structured low-rank reconstruction for 3D multi-shot EPI. Magn Reson Med 2024; 91:2443-2458. [PMID: 38361309 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.30019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Revised: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE The 3D multi-shot EPI imaging offers several benefits including higher SNR and high isotropic resolution compared to 2D single shot EPI. However, it suffers from shot-to-shot inconsistencies arising from physiologically induced phase variations and bulk motion. This work proposed a motion compensated structured low-rank (mcSLR) reconstruction method to address both issues for 3D multi-shot EPI. METHODS Structured low-rank reconstruction has been successfully used in previous work to deal with inter-shot phase variations for 3D multi-shot EPI imaging. It circumvents the estimation of phase variations by reconstructing an individual image for each phase state which are then sum-of-squares combined, exploiting their linear interdependency encoded in structured low-rank constraints. However, structured low-rank constraints become less effective in the presence of inter-shot motion, which corrupts image magnitude consistency and invalidates the linear relationship between shots. Thus, this work jointly models inter-shot phase variations and motion corruptions by incorporating rigid motion compensation for structured low-rank reconstruction, where motion estimates are obtained in a fully data-driven way without relying on external hardware or imaging navigators. RESULTS Simulation and in vivo experiments at 7T have demonstrated that the mcSLR method can effectively reduce image artifacts and improve the robustness of 3D multi-shot EPI, outperforming existing methods which only address inter-shot phase variations or motion, but not both. CONCLUSION The proposed mcSLR reconstruction compensates for rigid motion, and thus improves the validity of structured low-rank constraints, resulting in improved robustness of 3D multi-shot EPI to both inter-shot motion and phase variations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xi Chen
- Department of Radiological Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Wenchuan Wu
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, FMRIB, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK
| | - Mark Chiew
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, FMRIB, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK
- Physical Sciences, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Sun K, Chen Z, Dan G, Luo Q, Yan L, Liu F, Zhou XJ. Three-dimensional echo-shifted EPI with simultaneous blip-up and blip-down acquisitions for correcting geometric distortion. Magn Reson Med 2023; 90:2375-2387. [PMID: 37667533 PMCID: PMC10903279 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.29828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2023] [Revised: 07/08/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE EPI with blip-up/down acquisition (BUDA) can provide high-quality images with minimal distortions by using two readout trains with opposing phase-encoding gradients. Because of the need for two separate acquisitions, BUDA doubles the scan time and degrades the temporal resolution when compared to single-shot EPI, presenting a major challenge for many applications, particularly fMRI. This study aims at overcoming this challenge by developing an echo-shifted EPI BUDA (esEPI-BUDA) technique to acquire both blip-up and blip-down datasets in a single shot. METHODS A 3D esEPI-BUDA pulse sequence was designed by using an echo-shifting strategy to produce two EPI readout trains. These readout trains produced a pair of k-space datasets whose k-space trajectories were interleaved with opposite phase-encoding gradient directions. The two k-space datasets were separately reconstructed using a 3D SENSE algorithm, from which time-resolved B0 -field maps were derived using TOPUP in FSL and then input into a forward model of joint parallel imaging reconstruction to correct for geometric distortion. In addition, Hankel structured low-rank constraint was incorporated into the reconstruction framework to improve image quality by mitigating the phase errors between the two interleaved k-space datasets. RESULTS The 3D esEPI-BUDA technique was demonstrated in a phantom and an fMRI study on healthy human subjects. Geometric distortions were effectively corrected in both phantom and human brain images. In the fMRI study, the visual activation volumes and their BOLD responses were comparable to those from conventional 3D echo-planar images. CONCLUSION The improved imaging efficiency and dynamic distortion correction capability afforded by 3D esEPI-BUDA are expected to benefit many EPI applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaibao Sun
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Zhifeng Chen
- USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Department of Data Science and AI, Faculty of IT, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Guangyu Dan
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Qingfei Luo
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Lirong Yan
- USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Department of Radiology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Feng Liu
- School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Xiaohong Joe Zhou
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
- Departments of Radiology and Neurosurgery, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
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Li H, Zu T, Chen R, Ba R, Hsu YC, Sun Y, Zhang Y, Wu D. 3D diffusion MRI with twin navigator-based GRASE and comparison with 2D EPI for tractography in the human brain. Magn Reson Med 2023; 90:1969-1978. [PMID: 37345706 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.29769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2022] [Revised: 05/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE 3D pulse sequences enable high-resolution acquisition with a high SNR and ideal slice profiles, which, however, is particularly difficult for diffusion MRI (dMRI) due to the additional phase errors from diffusion encoding. METHODS We proposed a twin navigator-based 3D diffusion-weighted gradient spin-echo (GRASE) sequence to correct the phase errors between shots and between odd and even spin echoes for human whole-brain acquisition. We then compared the SNR of 3D GRASE and 2D simultaneous multi-slice EPI within the same acquisition time. We further tested the performance of 2D versus 3D acquisition at equivalent SNR on fiber tracking and microstructural mapping, using the diffusion tensor and high-order fiber orientation density-based metrics. RESULTS The proposed twin navigator approach removed multi-shot phase errors to some extent in the whole brain dMRI, and the 2D navigator performed better than the 1D navigator. Comparisons of SNR between the 2D simultaneous multi-slice EPI and 3D GRASE sequences demonstrated that the SNR of the GRASE sequence was 1.4-1.5-fold higher than the EPI sequence at an equivalent scan time. More importantly, we found a significantly higher fiber cross-section in the cerebrospinal tract, as well as richer subcortical fibers (U-fibers) using the 3D GRASE sequence compared to 2D EPI. CONCLUSION The twin navigator-based 3D diffusion-weighted-GRASE sequence minimized the multishot phase error and effectively improved the SNR for whole-brain dMRI acquisition. We found differences in fiber tracking and microstructural mapping between 2D and 3D acquisitions, possibly due to the different slice profiles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haotian Li
- Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Biomedical Engineering & Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
| | - Tao Zu
- Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Biomedical Engineering & Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
| | - Ruike Chen
- Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Biomedical Engineering & Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
| | - Ruicheng Ba
- Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Biomedical Engineering & Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
| | - Yi-Cheng Hsu
- MR Collaboration, Siemens Healthcare China, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Yi Sun
- MR Collaboration, Siemens Healthcare China, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Yi Zhang
- Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Biomedical Engineering & Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
| | - Dan Wu
- Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Biomedical Engineering & Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
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Liu S, Zhang J, Shi D, Guo H. Three-dimensional diffusion MRI using simultaneous multislab with blipped-CAIPI in a 4D k-space framework. Magn Reson Med 2023; 90:978-994. [PMID: 37103910 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.29685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2022] [Revised: 04/09/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 04/28/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE To develop an efficient simultaneous multislab imaging method with blipped-controlled aliasing in parallel imaging (blipped-SMSlab) in a 4D k-space framework, and to demonstrate its efficacy in high-resolution diffusion MRI (dMRI). THEORY AND METHODS First, the SMSlab 4D k-space signal expression is formulated, and the phase interferences from intraslab and interslab encodings on the same physical z-axis are analyzed. Then, the blipped-SMSlab dMRI sequence is designed, with blipped-controlled aliasing in parallel imaging (blipped-CAIPI) gradients for interslab encoding, and a 2D multiband accelerated navigator for inter-kz-shot phase correction. Third, strategies are developed to remove the phase interferences, by RF phase modulation and/or phase correction during reconstruction, thus decoupling intraslab and interslab encodings that are otherwise entangled. In vivo experiments are performed to validate the blipped-SMSlab method and preliminarily evaluate its performance in high-resolution dMRI compared with traditional 2D imaging. RESULTS In the 4D k-space framework, interslab and intraslab phase interferences of blipped-SMSlab are successfully removed using the proposed strategies. Compared with non-CAIPI sampling, the blipped-SMSlab acquisition reduces the g-factor and g-factor-related SNR penalty by about 12%. In addition, in vivo experiments show the SNR advantage of blipped-SMSlab dMRI over traditional 2D dMRI for 1.3-mm and 1.0-mm isotropic resolution imaging with matched acquisition time. CONCLUSION Removing interslab and intraslab phase interferences enables SMSlab dMRI with blipped-CAIPI in a 4D k-space framework. The proposed blipped-SMSlab dMRI is demonstrated to be more SNR-efficient than 2D dMRI and thus capable of high-quality, high-resolution fiber orientation detection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simin Liu
- Center for Biomedical Imaging Research, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Jieying Zhang
- Center for Biomedical Imaging Research, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Diwei Shi
- Center for Nano & Micro Mechanics, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Hua Guo
- Center for Biomedical Imaging Research, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
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Feizollah S, Tardif CL. High-resolution diffusion-weighted imaging at 7 Tesla: single-shot readout trajectories and their impact on signal-to-noise ratio, spatial resolution and accuracy. Neuroimage 2023; 274:120159. [PMID: 37150332 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Revised: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Diffusion MRI (dMRI) is a valuable imaging technique to study the connectivity and microstructure of the brain in vivo. However, the resolution of dMRI is limited by the low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of this technique. Various multi-shot acquisition strategies have been developed to achieve sub-millimeter resolution, but they require long scan times which can be restricting for patient scans. Alternatively, the SNR of single-shot acquisitions can be increased by using a spiral readout trajectory to minimize the sequence echo time. Imaging at ultra-high fields (UHF) could further increase the SNR of single-shot dMRI; however, the shorter T2* of brain tissue and the greater field non-uniformities at UHFs will degrade image quality, causing image blurring, distortions, and signal loss. In this study, we investigated the trade-off between the SNR and resolution of different k-space trajectories, including echo planar imaging (EPI), partial Fourier EPI, and spiral trajectories, over a range of dMRI resolutions at 7T. The effective resolution, spatial specificity and sharpening effect were measured from the point spread function (PSF) of the simulated diffusion sequences for a nominal resolution range of 0.6-1.8 mm. In-vivo partial brain scans at a nominal resolution of 1.5 mm isotropic were acquired using the three readout trajectories to validate the simulation results. Field probes were used to measure dynamic magnetic fields offline up to the 3rd order of spherical harmonics. Image reconstruction was performed using static ΔB0 field maps and the measured trajectories to correct image distortions and artifacts, leaving T2* effects as the primary source of blurring. The effective resolution was examined in fractional anisotropy (FA) maps calculated from a multi-shell dataset with b-values of 300, 1000, and 2000 s/mm2 in 5, 16, and 48 directions, respectively. In-vivo scans at nominal resolutions of 1, 1.2, and 1.5 mm were acquired and the SNR of the different trajectories calculated using the multiple replica method to investigate the SNR. Finally, in-vivo whole brain scans with an effective resolution of 1.5 mm isotropic were acquired to explore the SNR and efficiency of different trajectories at a matching effective resolution. FA and intra-cellular volume fraction (ICVF) maps calculated using neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) were used for the comparison. The simulations and in vivo imaging results showed that for matching nominal resolutions, EPI trajectories had the highest specificity and effective resolution with maximum image sharpening effect. However, spirals have a significantly higher SNR, in particular at higher resolutions and even when the effective image resolutions are matched. Overall, this work shows that the higher SNR of single-shot spiral trajectories at 7T allows us to achieve higher effective resolutions compared to EPI and PF-EPI to map the microstructure and connectivity of small brain structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sajjad Feizollah
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, 3801 Rue University, Montreal, QC, Canada; McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, 3801 Rue University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
| | - Christine L Tardif
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, 3801 Rue University, Montreal, QC, Canada; McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, 3801 Rue University, Montreal, QC, Canada; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Duff Medical Building, 3775 Rue University, Suite 316, Montreal, QC, Canada.
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Dai E, Mani M, McNab JA. Multi-band multi-shot diffusion MRI reconstruction with joint usage of structured low-rank constraints and explicit phase mapping. Magn Reson Med 2023; 89:95-111. [PMID: 36063492 PMCID: PMC9887994 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.29422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Revised: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/02/2022] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE To develop a joint reconstruction method for multi-band multi-shot diffusion MRI. THEORY AND METHODS Multi-band multi-shot EPI acquisition is an effective approach for high-resolution diffusion MRI, but requires specific algorithms to correct the inter-shot phase variations. The phase correction can be done by first estimating the explicit phase map and then feeding it into the k-space signal formulation model. Alternatively, the phase information can be used indirectly as structured low-rank constraints in k-space. The 2 methods differ in reconstruction accuracy and efficiency. We aim to combine the 2 different approaches for improved image quality and reconstruction efficiency simultaneously, termed "joint usage of structured low-rank constraints and explicit phase mapping" (JULEP). The proposed JULEP reconstruction is tested on both single-band and multi-band, multi-shot diffusion data, with different resolutions and b values. The results of JULEP are compared with conventional methods with explicit phase mapping (i.e., multiplexed sensitivity-encoding [MUSE]) and structured low-rank constraints (i.e., MUSSELS), and another joint reconstruction method (i.e., network estimated artifacts for tempered reconstruction [NEATR]). RESULTS JULEP improves the quality of the navigator and subsequently facilitates the reconstruction of final diffusion images. Compared with all 3 other methods (MUSE, MUSSELS, and NEATR), JULEP mitigates residual structural bias and improves temporal SNRs in the final diffusion image, particularly at high multi-band factors. Compared with MUSSELS, JULEP also improves computational efficiency. CONCLUSION The proposed JULEP method significantly improves the image quality and reconstruction efficiency of multi-band multi-shot diffusion MRI, which can promote a broader application of high-resolution diffusion MRI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erpeng Dai
- Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Merry Mani
- Department of Radiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States
| | - Jennifer A McNab
- Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
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Dong Y, Riedel M, Koolstra K, van Osch MJP, Börnert P. Water/fat separation for self-navigated diffusion-weighted multishot echo-planar imaging. NMR IN BIOMEDICINE 2023; 36:e4822. [PMID: 36031585 PMCID: PMC10078174 DOI: 10.1002/nbm.4822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2022] [Revised: 07/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to develop a self-navigation strategy to improve scan efficiency and image quality of water/fat-separated, diffusion-weighted multishot echo-planar imaging (ms-EPI). This is accomplished by acquiring chemical shift-encoded diffusion-weighted data and using an appropriate water-fat and diffusion-encoded signal model to enable reconstruction directly from k-space data. Multishot EPI provides reduced geometric distortion and improved signal-to-noise ratio in diffusion-weighted imaging compared with single-shot approaches. Multishot acquisitions require corrections for physiological motion-induced shot-to-shot phase errors using either extra navigators or self-navigation principles. In addition, proper fat suppression is important, especially in regions with large B0 inhomogeneity. This makes the use of chemical shift encoding attractive. However, when combined with ms-EPI, shot-to-shot phase navigation can be challenging because of the spatial displacement of fat signals along the phase-encoding direction. In this work, a new model-based, self-navigated water/fat separation reconstruction algorithm is proposed. Experiments in legs and in the head-neck region of 10 subjects were performed to validate the algorithm. The results are compared with an image-based, two-dimensional (2D) navigated water/fat separation approach for ms-EPI and with a conventional fat saturation approach. Compared with the 2D navigated method, the use of self-navigation reduced the shot duration time by 30%-35%. The proposed algorithm provided improved diffusion-weighted water images in both leg and head-neck regions compared with the 2D navigator-based approach. The proposed algorithm also produced better fat suppression compared with the conventional fat saturation technique in the B0 inhomogeneous regions. In conclusion, the proposed self-navigated reconstruction algorithm can produce superior water-only diffusion-weighted EPI images with less artefacts compared with the existing methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiming Dong
- C. J. Gorter Center for High Field MRI, Department of RadiologyLeiden University Medical CenterLeidenThe Netherlands
| | - Malte Riedel
- Institute for Biomedical EngineeringETH Zurich and University of ZurichZurichSwitzerland
| | - Kirsten Koolstra
- Division of Image Processing, Department of RadiologyLeiden University Medical CenterLeidenThe Netherlands
| | - Matthias J. P. van Osch
- C. J. Gorter Center for High Field MRI, Department of RadiologyLeiden University Medical CenterLeidenThe Netherlands
| | - Peter Börnert
- C. J. Gorter Center for High Field MRI, Department of RadiologyLeiden University Medical CenterLeidenThe Netherlands
- Philips Research HamburgHamburgGermany
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Birk F, Glang F, Loktyushin A, Birkl C, Ehses P, Scheffler K, Heule R. High-resolution neural network-driven mapping of multiple diffusion metrics leveraging asymmetries in the balanced steady-state free precession frequency profile. NMR IN BIOMEDICINE 2022; 35:e4669. [PMID: 34964998 DOI: 10.1002/nbm.4669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2021] [Revised: 12/04/2021] [Accepted: 12/06/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
We propose to utilize the rich information content about microstructural tissue properties entangled in asymmetric balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP) profiles to estimate multiple diffusion metrics simultaneously by neural network (NN) parameter quantification. A 12-point bSSFP phase-cycling scheme with high-resolution whole-brain coverage is employed at 3 and 9.4 T for NN input. Low-resolution target diffusion data are derived based on diffusion-weighted spin-echo echo-planar-imaging (SE-EPI) scans, that is, mean, axial, and radial diffusivity (MD, AD, and RD), fractional anisotropy (FA), as well as the spherical coordinates (azimuth Φ and inclination ϴ) of the principal diffusion eigenvector. A feedforward NN is trained with incorporated probabilistic uncertainty estimation. The NN predictions yielded highly reliable results in white matter (WM) and gray matter structures for MD. The quantification of FA, AD, and RD was overall in good agreement with the reference but the dependence of these parameters on WM anisotropy was somewhat biased (e.g. in corpus callosum). The inclination ϴ was well predicted for anisotropic WM structures, while the azimuth Φ was overall poorly predicted. The findings were highly consistent across both field strengths. Application of the optimized NN to high-resolution input data provided whole-brain maps with rich structural details. In conclusion, the proposed NN-driven approach showed potential to provide distortion-free high-resolution whole-brain maps of multiple diffusion metrics at high to ultrahigh field strengths in clinically relevant scan times.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian Birk
- High Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Felix Glang
- High Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Alexander Loktyushin
- High Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
- Empirical Inference, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Christoph Birkl
- Department of Neuroradiology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Philipp Ehses
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn, Germany
| | - Klaus Scheffler
- High Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Rahel Heule
- High Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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Zhang J, Liu S, Dai E, Ye X, Shi D, Wu Y, Lu J, Guo H. Slab boundary artifact correction in multislab imaging using convolutional-neural-network-enabled inversion for slab profile encoding. Magn Reson Med 2021; 87:1546-1560. [PMID: 34655095 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.29047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2021] [Revised: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 09/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE This study aims to propose a novel algorithm for slab boundary artifact correction in both single-band multislab imaging and simultaneous multislab (SMSlab) imaging. THEORY AND METHODS In image domain, the formation of slab boundary artifacts can be regarded as modulating the artifact-free images using the slab profiles and introducing aliasing along the slice direction. Slab boundary artifact correction is the inverse problem of this process. An iterative algorithm based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) is proposed to solve the problem, termed CNN-enabled inversion for slab profile encoding (CPEN). Diffusion-weighted SMSlab images and reference images without slab boundary artifacts were acquired in 7 healthy subjects for training. Images of 5 healthy subjects were acquired for testing, including single-band multislab and SMSlab images with 1.3-mm or 1-mm isotropic resolution. CNN-enabled inversion for slab profile encoding was compared with a previously reported method (i.e., nonlinear inversion for slab profile encoding [NPEN]). RESULTS CNN-enabled inversion for slab profile encoding reduces the slab boundary artifacts in both single-band multislab and SMSlab images. It also suppresses the slab boundary artifacts in the diffusion metric maps. Compared with NPEN, CPEN shows fewer residual artifacts in different acquisition protocols and more significant improvements in quantitative assessment, and it also accelerates the computation by more than 35 times. CONCLUSION CNN-enabled inversion for slab profile encoding can reduce the slab boundary artifacts in multislab acquisitions. It shows better slab boundary artifact correction capacity, higher robustness, and computation efficiency when compared with NPEN. It has the potential to improve the accuracy of multislab acquisitions in high-resolution DWI and functional MRI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jieying Zhang
- Center for Biomedical Imaging Research, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Simin Liu
- Center for Biomedical Imaging Research, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Erpeng Dai
- Center for Biomedical Imaging Research, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.,Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Xinyu Ye
- Center for Biomedical Imaging Research, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Diwei Shi
- Center for Nano and Micro Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Yuhsuan Wu
- Center for Biomedical Imaging Research, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Jie Lu
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Hua Guo
- Center for Biomedical Imaging Research, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, People's Republic of China
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12
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Liu S, Xiong Y, Dai E, Zhang J, Guo H. Improving distortion correction for isotropic high-resolution 3D diffusion MRI by optimizing Jacobian modulation. Magn Reson Med 2021; 86:2780-2794. [PMID: 34121222 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.28884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2021] [Revised: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 05/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE To improve distortion correction for isotropic high-resolution whole-brain 3D diffusion MRI when in a time-saving acquisition scenario. THEORY AND METHODS Data were acquired using simultaneous multi-slab (SMSlab) acquisitions, with a b = 0 image pair encoded by reversed polarity gradients (RPG) for phase encoding (PE) and diffusion weighted images encoded by a single PE direction. Eddy current-induced distortions were corrected first. During the following susceptibility distortion correction, image deformation was first corrected by the field map estimated from the b = 0 image pair. Intensity variation was subsequently corrected by Jacobian modulation. Two Jacobian modulation methods were compared. They calculated the Jacobian modulation map from the field map, or from the deformation corrected b = 0 image pair, termed as JField and JRPG , respectively. A modified version of the JRPG method, with proper smoothing, was further proposed for improved correction performance, termed as JRPG-smooth . RESULTS Compared to JField modulation, less remaining distortions are observed when using the JRPG and JRPG-smooth methods, especially in areas with large B0 field inhomogeneity. The original JRPG method causes signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) deficiency problem, which manifests as degraded SNR of the diffusion weighted images, while the JRPG-smooth method maintains the original image SNR. Less estimation errors of diffusion metrics are observed when using the JRPG-smooth method. CONCLUSION This study improves the distortion correction for isotropic high-resolution whole-brain 3D diffusion MRI by optimizing Jacobian modulation. The optimized method outperforms the conventional JField method regarding intensity variation correction and accuracy of diffusion metrics estimation, and outperforms the original JRPG method regarding SNR performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simin Liu
- Center for Biomedical Imaging Research, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Yuhui Xiong
- Center for Biomedical Imaging Research, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Erpeng Dai
- Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Jieying Zhang
- Center for Biomedical Imaging Research, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Hua Guo
- Center for Biomedical Imaging Research, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
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13
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Riedel Né Steinhoff M, Setsompop K, Mertins A, Börnert P. Segmented simultaneous multi-slice diffusion-weighted imaging with navigated 3D rigid motion correction. Magn Reson Med 2021; 86:1701-1717. [PMID: 33955588 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.28813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2020] [Revised: 03/29/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE To improve the robustness of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) data acquired with segmented simultaneous multi-slice (SMS) echo-planar imaging (EPI) against in-plane and through-plane rigid motion. THEORY AND METHODS The proposed algorithm incorporates a 3D rigid motion correction and wavelet denoising into the image reconstruction of segmented SMS-EPI diffusion data. Low-resolution navigators are used to estimate shot-specific diffusion phase corruptions and 3D rigid motion parameters through SMS-to-volume registration. The shot-wise rigid motion and phase parameters are integrated into a SENSE-based full-volume reconstruction for each diffusion direction. The algorithm is compared to a navigated SMS reconstruction without gross motion correction in simulations and in vivo studies with four-fold interleaved 3-SMS diffusion tensor acquisitions. RESULTS Simulations demonstrate high fidelity was achieved in the SMS-to-volume registration, with submillimeter registration errors and improved image reconstruction quality. In vivo experiments validate successful artifact reduction in 3D motion-compromised in vivo scans with a temporal motion resolution of approximately 0.3 s. CONCLUSION This work demonstrates the feasibility of retrospective 3D rigid motion correction from shot navigators for segmented SMS DWI.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kawin Setsompop
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Alfred Mertins
- Institute for Signal Processing, University of Luebeck, Luebeck, Germany
| | - Peter Börnert
- Philips Research, Hamburg, Germany.,Radiology, C.J. Gorter Center for High-Field MRI, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
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14
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Dai E, Liu S, Guo H. High-resolution whole-brain diffusion MRI at 3T using simultaneous multi-slab (SMSlab) acquisition. Neuroimage 2021; 237:118099. [PMID: 33940144 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2020] [Revised: 03/20/2021] [Accepted: 04/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
High-resolution diffusion MRI (dMRI) is a crucial tool in neuroscience studies to detect fine fiber structure, depict complex fiber architecture and analyze cortical anisotropy. However, high-resolution dMRI is limited by its intrinsically low SNR due to diffusion attenuation. A series of techniques have been proposed to improve the SNR performance, but most of them are at the cost of long scan time, which in turn sacrifice the SNR efficiency, especially for large FOV imaging, such as whole-brain imaging. Recently, a combination of 3D multi-slab acquisition and simultaneous multi-slice (SMS) excitation, namely simultaneous multi-slab (SMSlab), has been demonstrated to have potential for high-resolution diffusion imaging with high SNR and SNR efficiency. In our previous work, we have proposed a 3D Fourier encoding and reconstruction framework for SMSlab acquisition. In this study, we extend this 3D k-space framework to diffusion imaging, by developing a novel navigator acquisition strategy and exploring a k-space-based phase correction method. In vivo brain data are acquired using the proposed SMSlab method and compared with a series of different acquisitions, including the traditional 3D multi-slab, 2D SMS and 2D single-shot EPI (ss-EPI) acquisitions. The results demonstrate that SMSlab has a better SNR performance compared with 3D multi-slab and 2D SMS. The detection capacity of fine fiber structures is improved using SMSlab, compared with the low-resolution diffusion imaging using conventional 2D ss-EPI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erpeng Dai
- Center for Biomedical Imaging Research, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China; Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Simin Liu
- Center for Biomedical Imaging Research, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Hua Guo
- Center for Biomedical Imaging Research, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
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15
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Liao C, Bilgic B, Tian Q, Stockmann JP, Cao X, Fan Q, Iyer SS, Wang F, Ngamsombat C, Lo WC, Manhard MK, Huang SY, Wald LL, Setsompop K. Distortion-free, high-isotropic-resolution diffusion MRI with gSlider BUDA-EPI and multicoil dynamic B 0 shimming. Magn Reson Med 2021; 86:791-803. [PMID: 33748985 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.28748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2020] [Revised: 01/10/2021] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE We combine SNR-efficient acquisition and model-based reconstruction strategies with newly available hardware instrumentation to achieve distortion-free in vivo diffusion MRI of the brain at submillimeter-isotropic resolution with high fidelity and sensitivity on a clinical 3T scanner. METHODS We propose blip-up/down acquisition (BUDA) for multishot EPI using interleaved blip-up/blip-down phase encoding and incorporate B0 forward-modeling into structured low-rank reconstruction to enable distortion-free and navigator-free diffusion MRI. We further combine BUDA-EPI with an SNR-efficient simultaneous multislab acquisition (generalized slice-dithered enhanced resolution ["gSlider"]), to achieve high-isotropic-resolution diffusion MRI. To validate gSlider BUDA-EPI, whole-brain diffusion data at 860-μm and 780-μm data sets were acquired. Finally, to improve the conditioning and minimize noise penalty in BUDA reconstruction at very high resolutions where B0 inhomogeneity can have a detrimental effect, the level of B0 inhomogeneity was reduced by incorporating slab-by-slab dynamic shimming with a 32-channel AC/DC coil into the acquisition. Whole-brain 600-μm diffusion data were then acquired with this combined approach of gSlider BUDA-EPI with dynamic shimming. RESULTS The results of 860-μm and 780-μm datasets show high geometry fidelity with gSlider BUDA-EPI. With dynamic shimming, the BUDA reconstruction's noise penalty was further alleviated. This enables whole-brain 600-μm isotropic resolution diffusion imaging with high image quality. CONCLUSIONS The gSlider BUDA-EPI method enables high-quality, distortion-free diffusion imaging across the whole brain at submillimeter resolution, where the use of multicoil dynamic B0 shimming further improves reconstruction performance, which can be particularly useful at very high resolutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Congyu Liao
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.,Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Berkin Bilgic
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.,Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.,Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Qiyuan Tian
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.,Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Jason P Stockmann
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.,Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Xiaozhi Cao
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.,Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Qiuyun Fan
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.,Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Siddharth Srinivasan Iyer
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.,Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Fuyixue Wang
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.,Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Chanon Ngamsombat
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.,Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.,Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | | | - Mary Kate Manhard
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.,Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Susie Y Huang
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.,Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.,Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Lawrence L Wald
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.,Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.,Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Kawin Setsompop
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.,Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.,Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
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16
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Wu D, Liu D, Hsu YC, Li H, Sun Y, Qin Q, Zhang Y. Diffusion-prepared 3D gradient spin-echo sequence for improved oscillating gradient diffusion MRI. Magn Reson Med 2020; 85:78-88. [PMID: 32643240 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.28401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2020] [Revised: 06/03/2020] [Accepted: 06/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Oscillating gradient (OG) enables the access of short diffusion times for time-dependent diffusion MRI (dMRI); however, it poses several technical challenges for clinical use. This study proposes a 3D oscillating gradient-prepared gradient spin-echo (OGprep-GRASE) sequence to improve SNR and shorten acquisition time for OG dMRI on clinical scanners. METHODS The 3D OGprep-GRASE sequence consisted of global saturation, diffusion encoding, fat saturation, and GRASE readout modules. Multiplexed sensitivity-encoding reconstruction was used to correct the phase errors between multiple shots. We compared the scan time and SNR of the proposed sequence and the conventional 2D-EPI sequence for OG dMRI at 30-90-mm slice coverage. We also examined the time-dependent diffusivity changes with OG dMRI acquired at frequencies of 50 Hz and 25 Hz and pulsed-gradient dMRI at diffusion times of 30 ms and 60 ms. RESULTS The OGprep-GRASE sequence reduced the scan time by a factor of 1.38, and increased the SNR by 1.74-2.27 times compared with 2D EPI for relatively thick slice coverage (60-90 mm). The SNR gain led to improved diffusion-tensor reconstruction in the multishot protocols. Image distortion in 2D-EPI images was also reduced in GRASE images. Diffusivity measurements from the pulsed-gradient dMRI and OG dMRI showed clear diffusion-time dependency in the white matter and gray matter of the human brain, using both the GRASE and EPI sequences. CONCLUSION The 3D OGprep-GRASE sequence improved scan time and SNR and reduced image distortion compared with the 2D multislice acquisition for OG dMRI on a 3T clinical system, which may facilitate the clinical translation of time-dependent dMRI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Wu
- Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Biomedical Engineering & Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Dapeng Liu
- The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Division of MR Research, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.,F.M. Kirby Research Csenter for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Yi-Cheng Hsu
- MR Collaboration, Siemens Healthcare China, Shanghai, China
| | - Haotian Li
- Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Biomedical Engineering & Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yi Sun
- MR Collaboration, Siemens Healthcare China, Shanghai, China
| | - Qin Qin
- The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Division of MR Research, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.,F.M. Kirby Research Csenter for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Yi Zhang
- Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Biomedical Engineering & Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.,Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
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17
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Moeller S, Pisharady Kumar P, Andersson J, Akcakaya M, Harel N, Ma RE, Wu X, Yacoub E, Lenglet C, Ugurbil K. Diffusion Imaging in the Post HCP Era. J Magn Reson Imaging 2020; 54:36-57. [PMID: 32562456 DOI: 10.1002/jmri.27247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2020] [Revised: 05/11/2020] [Accepted: 05/13/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Diffusion imaging is a critical component in the pursuit of developing a better understanding of the human brain. Recent technical advances promise enabling the advancement in the quality of data that can be obtained. In this review the context for different approaches relative to the Human Connectome Project are compared. Significant new gains are anticipated from the use of high-performance head gradients. These gains can be particularly large when the high-performance gradients are employed together with ultrahigh magnetic fields. Transmit array designs are critical in realizing high accelerations in diffusion-weighted (d)MRI acquisitions, while maintaining large field of view (FOV) coverage, and several techniques for optimal signal-encoding are now available. Reconstruction and processing pipelines that precisely disentangle the acquired neuroanatomical information are established and provide the foundation for the application of deep learning in the advancement of dMRI for complex tissues. Level of Evidence: 3 Technical Efficacy Stage: Stage 3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steen Moeller
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research; Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Pramod Pisharady Kumar
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research; Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Jesper Andersson
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, FMRIB, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Mehmet Akcakaya
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research; Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.,Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Noam Harel
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research; Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Ruoyun Emily Ma
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research; Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Xiaoping Wu
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research; Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Essa Yacoub
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research; Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Christophe Lenglet
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research; Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Kamil Ugurbil
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research; Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
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