title: Breath-held MR cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) using a 3D Dixon fat-water separated balanced steady state free precession sequence.
abstract: A novel 3D breath-held Dixon fat-water separated balanced steady state free precession (b-SSFP) sequence for MR cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) is described and its potential clinical utility assessed in a series of patients. The main motivation is to develop a robust breath-held alternative to the respiratory gated 3D Fast Spin Echo (FSE) sequence, the current clinical sequence of choice for MRCP. Respiratory gated acquisitions are susceptible to motion artifacts and blurring in patients with significant diaphragmatic drift, erratic respiratory rhythms or sleep apnea. A two point Dixon fat-water separation scheme was developed which eliminates signal loss arising from B0 inhomogeneity effects and minimizes artifacts from perturbation of the b-SSFP steady state. Preliminary results from qualitative analysis of 49 patients demonstrate robust performance of the 3D Dixon b-SSFP sequence with diagnostic image quality acquired in a 20-24s breath-hold.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester MN, USA. Electronic address: glockner.james@mayo.edu.
authors.forename: James F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Glockner
authors.forename: Manojkumar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saranathan
authors.forename: Ersin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bayram
authors.forename: Christine U
authors.initials: CU
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000473:pathology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000465:Algorithms; D062485:Breath Holding; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D049448:Cholangiopancreatography, Magnetic Resonance / Q000379:methods*; D004066:Digestive System Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013382:Subtraction Technique; D014867:Water / Q000032:analysis; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014867:Water
keywords: Biliary; MRCP; steady state free precession