Korean J Radiol.  2017 Apr;18(2):289-298. 10.3348/kjr.2017.18.2.289.

The Effects of Breathing Motion on DCE-MRI Images: Phantom Studies Simulating Respiratory Motion to Compare CAIPIRINHA-VIBE, Radial-VIBE, and Conventional VIBE

• Lee CK
• Seo N
• Kim B
• Huh J
• Kim JK
• Lee SS
• Kim IS
• Nickel D
• Kim KW

• KMID: 2427941
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3348/kjr.2017.18.2.289

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
To compare the breathing effects on dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE)-MRI between controlled aliasing in parallel imaging results in higher acceleration (CAIPIRINHA)-volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination (VIBE), radial VIBE with k-space-weighted image contrast view-sharing (radial-VIBE), and conventional VIBE (c-VIBE) sequences using a dedicated phantom experiment.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We developed a moving platform to simulate breathing motion. We conducted dynamic scanning on a 3T machine (MAGNETOM Skyra, Siemens Healthcare) using CAIPIRINHA-VIBE, radial-VIBE, and c-VIBE for six minutes per sequence. We acquired MRI images of the phantom in both static and moving modes, and we also obtained motion-corrected images for the motion mode. We compared the signal stability and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of each sequence according to motion state and used the coefficients of variation (CoV) to determine the degree of signal stability.
RESULTS
With motion, CAIPIRINHA-VIBE showed the best image quality, and the motion correction aligned the images very well. The CoV (%) of CAIPIRINHA-VIBE in the moving mode (18.65) decreased significantly after the motion correction (2.56) (p < 0.001). In contrast, c-VIBE showed severe breathing motion artifacts that did not improve after motion correction. For radial-VIBE, the position of the phantom in the images did not change during motion, but streak artifacts significantly degraded image quality, also after motion correction. In addition, SNR increased in both CAIPIRINHA-VIBE (from 3.37 to 9.41, p < 0.001) and radial-VIBE (from 4.3 to 4.96, p < 0.001) after motion correction.
CONCLUSION
CAIPIRINHA-VIBE performed best for free-breathing DCE-MRI after motion correction, with excellent image quality.

Keyword

Dynamic contrast-enhanced; Magnetic resonance imaging; Phantom study; Free-breathing; Respiratory motion; Parallel imaging technique; CAIPIRINHA-VIBE

MeSH Terms

Contrast Media/chemistry
Humans
Image Enhancement/instrumentation/*methods
*Magnetic Resonance Imaging/instrumentation
Phantoms, Imaging
Reproducibility of Results
Signal-To-Noise Ratio
Contrast Media

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Schematic figure of DCE-MRI phantom and moving platform. Moving platform consists of phantom holder with wheels, plastic cover box, handle, and rail; MR body coil (not illustrated) was placed on top of cover box. Well-trained researcher manually moved moving platform. DCE-MRI = dynamic contrast-enhanced-magnetic resonance imaging

• 

  Fig. 2 Captured MRI images of dynamic scanning using each sequence according to motion mode. Each four-image set was arranged in horizontal axis along time points (6 seconds, 1 respiratory cycle in this study). We drew white dotted line below tube (asterisks) that contained highest concentrations of NiCl2 to clearly demonstrate movement. A. MRI images using CAIPIRINHA-VIBE. For static mode (upper row), phantom showed stable location without any artifact. For moving mode (middle row), MR images obtained using CAIPIRINHA-VIBE showed vertical phantom displacement with mildly distorted tube shapes. After motion correction (lower row), phantom displacement had decreased markedly, with remaining ghosting artifacts around each tube. B. MRI images using radial-VIBE. For static mode (upper row), phantom also showed stable location without any artifact. For both moving (middle row) and motion-corrected (lower row) modes, MR images did not show significant displacement of phantom. However, round shape of each tube was significantly distorted due to streak artifacts on radial-VIBE, and these streak artifacts did not grossly improve after motion correction. C. MRI images using c-VIBE. For static mode (upper row), phantom also showed stable location without any artifact. For moving mode (middle row), MR images obtained using c-VIBE showed vertical phantom motion with related artifacts; true image of each tube overlapped with after-image of each tube, which disrupted original round shape. Neither displacement due to motion nor motion-related artifacts significantly improved after motion correction (lower row). c-VIBE = conventional VIBE, CAIPIRINHA = controlled aliasing in parallel imaging results in higher acceleration, VIBE = volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination

• 

  Fig. 3 Graphs and CoV (%) for signal stability of each MRI sequence. Signal intensities, which were obtained using each sequence, are plotted along dynamic series over six minutes. Each colored line indicates signal intensities according to motion mode, i.e., blue line, static mode; green line, moving mode; red line, motion-corrected mode. For all three sequences, signal intensities at static mode (blue lines) were stable without variation. Small CoVs, which are close to 0, indicate that variations in MRI signal intensities were negligible, thus suggesting better signal stability. A. CAIPIRINHA-VIBE. Signal intensities for moving mode (green line) showed periodical vertical fluctuations. In motion-corrected mode (red line), variations in signal intensities observed in moving mode had decreased greatly. CoVs in static, moving, and motion-corrected modes were 0.09, 18.65, and 2.56, respectively. B. Radial-VIBE. Variations in signal intensities in radial-VIBE in moving mode (green line) were less prominent than those in CAIPIRINHA-VIBE or c-VIBE; however, these variations in signal intensities did not decrease after motion correction (red line). CoVs for static, moving, and motion-corrected modes were 0.03, 8.90, and 15.84, respectively. C. c-VIBE. Signal intensities in moving mode (green line) fluctuated up and down over time, and with motion correction (red line), variations in signal intensities observed in moving mode did not significantly decrease. CoVs in static, moving, and motion-corrected modes were 0.21, 12.91, and 12.50, respectively. c-VIBE = conventional VIBE, CAIPIRINHA = controlled aliasing in parallel imaging results in higher acceleration, CoV = coefficients of variation, MOCO = motion correction, VIBE = volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination

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