Accelerated Time-of-Flight Magnetic Resonance Angiography with Sparse Undersampling and Iterative Reconstruction for the Evaluation of Intracranial Arteries
- Author:
Hehan TANG
1
;
Na HU
;
Yuan YUAN
;
Chunchao XIA
;
Xiumin LIU
;
Panli ZUO
;
Aurelien F STALDER
;
Michaela SCHMIDT
;
Xiaoyue ZHOU
;
Bin SONG
;
Jiayu SUN
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords: Time-of-Flight (TOF); Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA); Intracranial vessels; Sparse; Iterative reconstruction
- MeSH: Acceleration; Arteries; Artifacts; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Angiography
- From:Korean Journal of Radiology 2019;20(2):265-274
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To compare the image quality of three-dimensional time-of-flight (TOF) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) with sparse undersampling and iterative reconstruction (sparse TOF) with that of conventional TOF MRA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study included 56 patients who had undergone sparse TOF MRA for intracranial artery evaluation on a 3T MR scanner. Conventional TOF MRA scans were also acquired from 29 patients with matched acquisition times and another 27 patients with matched scanning parameters. The image quality was scored using a five-point scale based on the delineation of arterial vessel segments, artifacts, overall vessel visualization, and overall image quality by two radiologists independently, and the data were analyzed using the non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Contrast ratios (CRs) of vessels were compared using the paired t test. Interobserver agreement was calculated using the kappa test. RESULTS: Compared with conventional TOF at the same spatial resolution, sparse TOF with an acceleration factor of 3.5 could reduce acquisition time by 40% and showed comparable image quality. In addition, when compared with conventional TOF with the same acquisition time, sparse TOF with an acceleration factor of 5 could also achieve higher spatial resolution, better delineation of vessel segments, fewer artifacts, higher image quality, and a higher CR (p < 0.05). Good-to-excellent interobserver agreement (κ: 0.65–1.00) was obtained between the two radiologists. CONCLUSION: Compared with conventional TOF, sparse TOF can achieve equivalent image quality in a reduced duration. Furthermore, using the same acquisition time, sparse TOF could improve the delineation of vessels and decrease image artifacts.
