Coronary MR angiography: respiratory motion correction with BACSPIN.
OBJECTIVE
To improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of breath-held coronary magnetic resonance angiography (CMRA) without increasing the number or duration of breath holds.


METHODS
In this BACSPIN (Breathing AutoCorrection with SPiral INterleaves) technique, a single breath-held electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated multi-slice interleaved-spiral data set is acquired, followed by repeated imaging of the same slices during free breathing. Each spiral interleaf from the breath-held data set is used as a standard for comparison with corresponding acquisitions at the same interleaf angle during free breathing. The most closely matched acquisitions are incorporated into a multi-slice, multi-average data set with increasing SNR over time. In-plane translations of the coronary artery can be measured and compensated for each accepted acquisition before combination with the other acquisitions.


RESULTS
CMRA was performed on six volunteers, with improved SNR and minimal motional blurring. In some cases, breath holding could be dispensed with completely and the average respiratory position used as a reference.


CONCLUSIONS
BACSPIN provides a promising method for CMRA with improved SNR and limited breath-holding requirements.
Hardy
Christopher J
CJ
GE Global Research Center, One Research Circle, Schenectady, NY 12309, USA. hardycj@crd.ge.com
Zhao
Lei
L
Zong
Xuli
X
Saranathan
Manojkumar
M
Yucel
E Kent
EK
D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D012119:Respiration