Biomedical Imaging Research Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.
Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California.
Magn Reson Med. 2020 Nov;84(5):2376-2388. doi: 10.1002/mrm.28275. Epub 2020 Apr 16.
To develop an MR multitasking-based multidimensional assessment of cardiovascular system (MT-MACS) with electrocardiography-free and navigator-free data acquisition for a comprehensive evaluation of thoracic aortic diseases.
The MT-MACS technique adopts a low-rank tensor image model with a cardiac time dimension for phase-resolved cine imaging and a T -prepared inversion-recovery dimension for multicontrast assessment. Twelve healthy subjects and 2 patients with thoracic aortic diseases were recruited for the study at 3 T, and both qualitative (image quality score) and quantitative (contrast-to-noise ratio between lumen and wall, lumen and wall area, and aortic strain index) analyses were performed in all healthy subjects. The overall image quality was scored based on a 4-point scale: 3, excellent; 2, good; 1, fair; and 0, poor. Statistical analysis was used to test the measurement agreement between MT-MACS and its corresponding 2D references.
The MT-MACS images reconstructed from acquisitions as short as 6 minutes demonstrated good or excellent image quality for bright-blood (2.58 ± 0.46), dark-blood (2.58 ± 0.50), and gray-blood (2.17 ± 0.53) contrast weightings, respectively. The contrast-to-noise ratios for the three weightings were 49.2 ± 12.8, 20.0 ± 5.8 and 2.8 ± 1.8, respectively. There were good agreements in the lumen and wall area (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.993, P < .001 for lumen; intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.969, P < .001 for wall area) and strain (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.947, P < .001) between MT-MACS and conventional 2D sequences.
The MT-MACS technique provides high-quality, multidimensional images for a comprehensive assessment of the thoracic aorta. Technical feasibility was demonstrated in healthy subjects and patients with thoracic aortic diseases. Further clinical validation is warranted.
开发一种基于磁共振多任务的多维心血管系统评估（MT-MACS）技术，该技术无需心电图和导航即可采集数据，可全面评估胸主动脉疾病。
MT-MACS 技术采用低秩张量图像模型，具有心脏时间维度的相位分辨电影成像和 T 准备反转恢复维度的多对比度评估。在 3T 下，招募了 12 名健康受试者和 2 名胸主动脉疾病患者进行研究，并对所有健康受试者进行了定性（图像质量评分）和定量（管腔与管壁之间的对比噪声比、管腔与管壁面积以及主动脉应变指数）分析。总体图像质量评分基于 4 分制：3 分，优秀；2 分，良好；1 分，一般；0 分，差。采用统计分析方法检验 MT-MACS 与相应二维参考之间的测量一致性。
从最短 6 分钟的采集重建的 MT-MACS 图像，分别为亮血（2.58 ± 0.46）、黑血（2.58 ± 0.50）和灰血（2.17 ± 0.53）对比度加权提供了良好或优秀的图像质量。三种加权的对比噪声比分别为 49.2 ± 12.8、20.0 ± 5.8 和 2.8 ± 1.8。MT-MACS 与常规二维序列在管腔和管壁面积（组内相关系数 = 0.993，P <.001 管腔；组内相关系数 = 0.969，P <.001 管壁面积）和应变（组内相关系数 = 0.947，P <.001）方面具有良好的一致性。
MT-MACS 技术可为胸主动脉的全面评估提供高质量的多维图像。在健康受试者和胸主动脉疾病患者中证明了技术可行性。需要进一步的临床验证。
