Assessing the accuracy and precision of musculoskeletal motion tracking using cine-PC MRI on a 3.0T platform.
The rising cost of musculoskeletal pathology, disease, and injury creates a pressing need for accurate and reliable methods to quantify 3D musculoskeletal motion, fostering a renewed interest in this area over the past few years. To date, cine-phase contrast (PC) MRI remains the only technique capable of non-invasively tracking in vivo 3D musculoskeletal motion during volitional activity, but current scan times are long on the 1.5T MR platform (∼ 2.5 min or 75 movement cycles). With the clinical availability of higher field strength magnets (3.0T) that have increased signal-to-noise ratios, it is likely that scan times can be reduced while improving accuracy. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to validate cine-PC MRI on a 3.0T platform, in terms of accuracy, precision, and subject-repeatability, and to determine if scan time could be minimized. On the 3.0T platform it is possible to limit scan time to 2 min, with sub-millimeter accuracy (<0.33 mm/0.97°), excellent technique precision (<0.18°), and strong subject-repeatability (<0.73 mm/1.10°). This represents reduction in imaging time by 25% (42 s), a 50% improvement in accuracy, and a 72% improvement in technique precision over the original 1.5T platform. Scan time can be reduced to 1 min (30 movement cycles), but the improvements in accuracy are not as large.
Behnam
Abrahm J
AJ
Rehabilitation Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health, Building 10 CRC RM 1-1469, 10 Center Drive MSC 1604, Bethesda, MD 20892-1604, USA.
Herzka
Daniel A
DA
Sheehan
Frances T
FT
D000328:Adult; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000502:physiology; D019028:Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cine / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D009142:Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D055815:Young Adult