摘要

PurposeQuantitative T1 imaging is beneficial for early detection for osteoarthritis but has seen limited clinical use due to long scan times. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of accelerated T1 mapping for knee cartilage quantification using a combination of compressed sensing (CS) and data-driven parallel imaging (ARC-Autocalibrating Reconstruction for Cartesian sampling). MethodsA sequential combination of ARC and CS, both during data acquisition and reconstruction, was used to accelerate the acquisition of T1 maps. Phantom, ex vivo (porcine knee), and in vivo (human knee) imaging was performed on a GE 3T MR750 scanner. T1 quantification after CS-accelerated acquisition was compared with non CS-accelerated acquisition for various cartilage compartments. ResultsAccelerating image acquisition using CS did not introduce major deviations in quantification. The coefficient of variation for the root mean squared error increased with increasing acceleration, but for in vivo measurements, it stayed under 5% for a net acceleration factor up to 2, where the acquisition was 25% faster than the reference (only ARC). ConclusionTo the best of our knowledge, this is the first implementation of CS for in vivo T1 quantification. These early results show that this technique holds great promise in making quantitative imaging techniques more accessible for clinical applications. Magn Reson Med 75:1256-1261, 2016.

  • 出版日期2016-3