Multishot PROPELLER for high‐field preclinical MRI

With the development of numerous mouse models of cancer, there is a tremendous need for an appropriate imaging technique to study the disease evolution. High‐field T 2 ‐weighted imaging using PROPELLER (Periodically Rotated Overlapping ParallEL Lines with Enhanced Reconstruction) MRI meets this need. The two‐shot PROPELLER technique presented here provides (a) high spatial resolution, (b) high contrast resolution, and (c) rapid and noninvasive imaging, which enables high‐throughput, longitudinal studies in free‐breathing mice. Unique data collection and reconstruction makes this method robust against motion artifacts. The two‐shot modification introduced here retains more high‐frequency information and provides higher signal‐to‐noise ratio than conventional single‐shot PROPELLER, making this sequence feasible at high fields, where signal loss is rapid. Results are shown in a liver metastases model to demonstrate the utility of this technique in one of the more challenging regions of the mouse, which is the abdomen. Magn Reson Med, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.