Wang Jinghua, He Lili, Zheng Hairong, Lu Zhong-Lin
Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Brain Imaging, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America.
Center for Perinatal Research, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2014 May 30;9(5):e96899. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0096899. eCollection 2014.
The three-dimension (3D) magnetization-prepared rapid gradient-echo (MP-RAGE) sequence is one of the most popular sequences for structural brain imaging in clinical and research settings. The sequence captures high tissue contrast and provides high spatial resolution with whole brain coverage in a short scan time. In this paper, we first computed the optimal k-space sampling by optimizing the contrast of simulated images acquired with the MP-RAGE sequence at 3.0 Tesla using computer simulations. Because the software of our scanner has only limited settings for k-space sampling, we then determined the optimal k-space sampling for settings that can be realized on our scanner. Subsequently we optimized several major imaging parameters to maximize normal brain tissue contrasts under the optimal k-space sampling. The optimal parameters are flip angle of 12°, effective inversion time within 900 to 1100 ms, and delay time of 0 ms. In vivo experiments showed that the quality of images acquired with our optimal protocol was significantly higher than that of images obtained using recommended protocols in prior publications. The optimization of k-spacing sampling and imaging parameters significantly improved the quality and detection sensitivity of brain images acquired with MP-RAGE.
三维(3D)磁化准备快速梯度回波(MP-RAGE)序列是临床和研究环境中用于脑结构成像的最常用序列之一。该序列能捕捉到高组织对比度,并在短扫描时间内提供全脑覆盖的高空间分辨率。在本文中,我们首先通过计算机模拟优化了在3.0特斯拉下使用MP-RAGE序列采集的模拟图像的对比度,从而计算出最优的k空间采样。由于我们扫描仪的软件在k空间采样方面设置有限,然后我们确定了在我们的扫描仪上能够实现的设置的最优k空间采样。随后,在最优k空间采样下,我们优化了几个主要成像参数,以最大化正常脑组织对比度。最优参数为翻转角12°、有效反转时间在900至1100毫秒之间以及延迟时间为0毫秒。体内实验表明,使用我们的最优方案采集的图像质量明显高于先前出版物中使用推荐方案获得的图像质量。k间距采样和成像参数的优化显著提高了用MP-RAGE采集的脑图像的质量和检测灵敏度。