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Use of k Z ‐space for high through‐plane resolution in multislice MRI: Application to prostate
Author(s) -
Kargar Soudabeh,
Borisch Eric A.,
Froemming Adam T.,
Grimm Roger C.,
Kawashima Akira,
King Bernard F.,
Stinson Eric G.,
Riederer Stephen J.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
magnetic resonance in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.696
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1522-2594
pISSN - 0740-3194
DOI - 10.1002/mrm.27691
Subject(s) - multislice , imaging phantom , resolution (logic) , nuclear medicine , image resolution , prostate , optical transfer function , nuclear magnetic resonance , computer science , physics , artificial intelligence , optics , medicine , cancer
Purpose The goal of this work is to demonstrate 1 mm through‐plane resolution in multislice T2SE MRI using kZ ‐space processing of overlapping slices and show applicability in prostate MRI. Methods Multiple overlapped slices are acquired and Fourier transformed in the slice‐select direction. The slice profile is incorporated into a Tikhonov‐regularized reconstruction. Through‐plane resolution is tested in a resolution phantom. An anthropomorphic prostate phantom is used to study the SNR, and results are compared with theoretical prediction. The proposed method is tested in 16 patients indicated for clinical prostate MRI who gave written informed consent as overseen by our IRB. The “proposed” vs. “reference” multislice images are compared using multiple evaluation criteria for through‐plane resolution. Results The modulation transfer function (MTF) plots of the resolution phantom show good modulation at frequency 0.5 lp/mm, demonstrating 1 mm through‐plane resolution restoration. The SNR measurements experimentally match the theoretically predicted values. The radiological evaluation shows that the proposed method is superior to the reference method for five criteria of sharpness but inferior with respect to artifacts. Conclusions In conjunction with overlapped slices a kZ ‐space‐based reconstruction approach can be used to improve through‐plane resolution in multislice T2SE MRI. 1 mm resolution is demonstrated from 3.2 mm thick slices. The in vivo results from prostate MRI show improved sharpness when compared to the standard multislice method.