Misregistration artifacts in image-derived arterial input function in non-echo-planar imaging-based dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI

• Published in: Journal of magnetic resonance imaging Vol. 25; no. 6; pp. 1248 - 1255
• Main Authors: Kuribayashi, Hideto, Worthington, Philip L., Bradley, Daniel P., Checkley, David R., Tessier, Jean J., Waterton, John C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01.06.2007
• Subjects: Abdomen - anatomy & histology; Animals; Aorta, Abdominal - anatomy & histology; arterial input function; Computer Simulation; Contrast Media - administration & dosage; dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging; Gadolinium DTPA - administration & dosage; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; misregistration artifact; phase shift; Rats; semikeyhole; sliding-window reconstruction
• ISSN: 1053-1807; 1522-2586
• DOI: 10.1002/jmri.20924

Purpose To characterize misregistration artifact in arterial input function (AIF) pixels in dynamic contrast‐enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE‐MRI) using a two‐dimensional non‐echo‐planar imaging (EPI)‐based gradient‐recalled echo (GRE) sequence. Materials and Methods Dynamic gadopentetate‐enhanced MRI was acquired in the rat using a semikeyhole acquisition scheme. The AIF was obtained from abdominal aorta pixels. Different sliding‐window reconstruction techniques were applied to determine which lines in a series of the semikeyhole acquisition were associated with the misregistration artifacts. Results The misregistration along the phase‐encoding direction arose when k‐space lines were acquired during the rise‐time of the aortic gadolinium concentration. The maximum blood concentration of gadolinium estimated from the phase shift calculation agreed with that estimated from dosage. Conclusion AIF misregistration results from a phase shift due to increasing gadolinium concentration in the aorta, and may need to be considered in small animal DCE‐MRI studies with a high rate of rise in the AIF in high‐field MR applications. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2007;25:1248–1255. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.