Continuous ASL (CASL) perfusion MRI with an array coil and parallel imaging at 3T

The purpose of this work was to assess the feasibility and efficacy of using an array coil and parallel imaging in continuous arterial spin labeling (CASL) perfusion MRI. An 8‐channel receive‐only array head coil was used in conjunction with a surrounding detunable volume transmit coil. The signal t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Magnetic resonance in medicine 2005-09, Vol.54 (3), p.732-737
Main Authors: Wang, Ze, Wang, Jiongjiong, Connick, Thomas J., Wetmore, Gabriel S., Detre, John A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
ASL perfusion imaging
Blood Flow Velocity - physiology
CBF
Cerebrovascular Circulation - physiology
Equipment Design
Feasibility Studies
GRAPPA
Humans
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
Magnetic Resonance Imaging - instrumentation
Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods
Male
parallel imaging
Sensitivity and Specificity
SNR
Spin Labels
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The purpose of this work was to assess the feasibility and efficacy of using an array coil and parallel imaging in continuous arterial spin labeling (CASL) perfusion MRI. An 8‐channel receive‐only array head coil was used in conjunction with a surrounding detunable volume transmit coil. The signal to noise ratio (SNR), temporal stability, cerebral blood flow (CBF), and perfusion image coverage were measured from steady state CASL scans using: a standard volume coil, array coil, and array coil with 2‐ and 3‐fold accelerated parallel imaging. Compared to the standard volume coil, the array coil provided 3 times the average SNR increase and higher temporal stability for the perfusion weighted images, even with threefold acceleration. Although perfusion images of the array coil were affected by the inhomogeneous coil sensitivities, this effect was invisible in the quantitative CBF images, which showed highly reproducible perfusion values compared to the standard volume coil. The unfolding distortions of parallel imaging were suppressed in the perfusion images by pairwise subtraction, though they sharply degraded the raw EPI images. Moreover, parallel imaging provided the potential of acquiring more slices due to the shortened acquisition time and improved coverage in brain regions with high static field inhomogeneity. Such results highlight the potential utility of array coils and parallel imaging in ASL perfusion MRI. Magn Reson Med, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
ISSN:0740-3194
1522-2594
DOI:10.1002/mrm.20574