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Parallel and nonparallel simultaneous multislice black‐blood double inversion recovery techniques for vessel wall imaging
Author(s) -
Itskovich Vitalii V.,
Mani Venkatesh,
Mizsei Gabor,
Aguinaldo Juan Gilberto S.,
Samber Daniel D.,
Macaluso Frank,
Wisdom Paul,
Fayad Zahi A.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of magnetic resonance imaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.563
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1522-2586
pISSN - 1053-1807
DOI - 10.1002/jmri.20022
Subject(s) - multislice , nuclear medicine , medicine , biomedical engineering , materials science
Purpose To reduce long examination times of black‐blood vessel wall imaging by acquiring multiple slices simultaneously and by using parallel acquisition techniques. Materials and Methods DIR‐rapid acquisition with relaxation enhancement (;RARE) techniques imaging up to 10 simultaneous slices per acquisition with single and multiple 180°‐reinversion pulses were developed. A slab‐selective reinversion multislice DIR‐RARE sequence incorporating generalized autocalibrating partially parallel acquisitions (GRAPPA) imaging was implemented. Four‐channel and eight‐channel carotid coils were built to test these sequences. A total of 11 subjects were studied. Contrast‐to‐noise ratio (CNR) and signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) efficiency factor (SEF, SNR/unit time/slice) were measured from aortic images of three healthy subjects to determine optimal MR parameters. The DIR–RARE‐GRAPPA sequence was run on aortas and carotid arteries of the five remaining healthy subjects and three atherosclerotic patients with optimal parameters (acquisition times 12–21 seconds). Results SEFs of slab‐selective protocols were significantly higher than those of slice‐selective protocols, and SEFs of DIR‐RARE‐GRAPPA protocols were significantly higher than corresponding non‐GRAPPA protocols ( P < 0.05). CNR was not significantly different for all imaging protocols. The DIR‐RARE‐GRAPPA multislice sequence showed 8.35‐fold time improvement vs. single–slice DIR‐2RARE sequence. Conclusion Future MRI atherosclerotic plaque studies can be performed in substantially shorter times using these methods. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2004;19:459–467. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.