Respiratory motion compensated MR cholangiopancreatography at 3.0 Tesla.
OBJECTIVE
To reduce irregular respiratory motion-induced artifacts in free-breathing prospective navigator-triggered three-dimensional (3D) MR cholangiopancreatography (MRCP).


METHODS
A reference respiration model was estimated from the first-five respiration periods during the initial navigator scan. With the navigator information acquired before and after triggering, the un-acquired diaphragm position during the actual imaging was interpolated using the amplitude-scaled reference model. Craniocaudal translational motion during imaging was retrospectively corrected using the estimated diaphragm position. T2-weighted 3D MRCP data were acquired from 17 healthy volunteers. For quantitative analysis, contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and relative contrast (RC) of the biliary tree and gallbladder were compared using the paired t-test.


RESULTS
The CNR and RC of the biliary tree and gallbladder were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the maximum intensity projection images after motion compensation.


CONCLUSIONS
The proposed algorithm can be an effective tool to reduce the irregular respiratory motion-induced artifacts in 3D MRCP imaging.
Zho
Sang-Young
SY
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.
Park
Jaeseok
J
Choi
Jin-Young
JY
Kim
Dong-Hyun
DH
D016477:Artifacts; D049448:Cholangiopancreatography, Magnetic Resonance / Q000379:methods*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008297:Male; D009038:Motion; D012016:Reference Values; D012119:Respiration; D055425:Respiratory-Gated Imaging Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity