Abstract
In order to improve the image quality of BLADE magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using the index tensor solvers and to evaluate MRI image quality in a clinical setting, we implemented BLADE MRI reconstructions using two tensor solvers (the least-squares solver and the L1 total-variation regularized least absolute deviation (L1TV-LAD) solver) on a graphics processing unit (GPU). The BLADE raw data were prospectively acquired and presented in random order before being assessed by two independent radiologists. Evaluation scores were examined for consistency and then by repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) to identify the superior algorithm. The simulation showed the structural similarity index (SSIM) of various tensor solvers ranged between 0.995 and 0.999. Inter-reader reliability was high (Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.845, 95% confidence interval: 0.817, 0.87). The image score of L1TV-LAD was significantly higher than that of vendor-provided image and the least-squares method. The image score of the least-squares method was significantly lower than that of the vendor-provided image. No significance was identified in L1TV-LAD with a regularization strength of 0.4–1.0. The L1TV-LAD with a regularization strength of 0.4–0.7 was found consistently better than least-squares and vendor-provided reconstruction in BLADE MRI with a SENSitivity Encoding (SENSE) factor of 2. This warrants further development of the integrated computing system with the scanner.
Highlights
The BLADE sequence ( known as the Periodically Rotated Overlapping ParallELLines with Enhanced Reconstruction (PROPELLER) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) [1]or MultiVane) uses multiple overlapping rectangular k-space patches, which cover the circular region in k-space while sharing the k-space center
It is well known that BLADE MRI reduces the motion artifacts and assists the scanning process if patients are uncooperative
BLADE MRI is effective in reducing motion artifact [2,3,4,5], which is useful in brain, spine, pediatric [6] and abdominal imaging
Summary
The BLADE sequence ( known as the Periodically Rotated Overlapping ParallELLines with Enhanced Reconstruction (PROPELLER) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) [1]or MultiVane) uses multiple overlapping rectangular k-space patches (the Fourier domain), which cover the circular region in k-space while sharing the k-space center. It is well known that BLADE MRI reduces the motion artifacts and assists the scanning process if patients are uncooperative. BLADE MRI is effective in reducing motion artifact [2,3,4,5], which is useful in brain, spine, pediatric [6] and abdominal imaging. BLADE MRI has been applied to detect pulmonary damages related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) [7]. All of these clinical applications reveal the value of BLADE MRI for imaging regions in motion, but its role in static imaging remains uncertain without more investigation
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