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Can homogeneous preparation encoding (HoPE) help reduce scan time in abdominal MRI? A clinical evaluation
Author(s) -
Paul Dominik,
Frydrychowicz Alex,
Walcher Jens,
Fautz HansPeter,
Hennig Jürgen,
Langer Matthias,
Schäfer Oliver
Publication year - 2007
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.20961
Subject(s) - protocol (science) , image quality , homogeneous , medicine , artifact (error) , medical physics , radiology , computer science , nuclear medicine , artificial intelligence , image (mathematics) , mathematics , alternative medicine , pathology , combinatorics
Purpose To evaluate time efficiency, image quality, and diagnostic value of a clinical routine homogeneous preparation encoding (HoPE) imaging protocol in different malign and inflammatory abdominal conditions. Materials and Methods A total of 14 healthy volunteers and 40 patients were examined after written informed consent and approval of the local ethics committee. A standard abdominal T1‐weighted (T1W) fat‐saturated gradient‐echo protocol was compared to the HoPE sequence protocol ensuring for comparable imaging parameters. Examinations were performed on a 1.5‐T Siemens Avanto equipped with a multichannel body‐array coil. Image analysis was performed with respect to contrast‐to‐noise ratio (CNR) and signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR), level of fat suppression (FS), generation of artifacts, and overall image quality by two blinded radiologists. Results In addition to comparable results in overall image quality and FS level, the HoPE sequence protocol provided a reduction in acquisition time of up to 40%. In addition, artifact generation was same or even reduced with respect to pulsation. Quantitative SNR analysis showed strong correlation between HoPE and the conventional method. Conclusion The HoPE technique is a feasible and time‐saving alternative for clinical abdominal MRI. Future studies will have to be conducted on larger patient collectives to strengthen the impact of this promising technique for FS imaging and to prove its accuracy. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2007;26:442–447. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.