Comprehensive Evaluation of B₁⁺-corrected FISP-based Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting: Accuracy, Repeatability and Reproducibility of T₁ and T₂ Relaxation Times for ISMRM/NIST System Phantom and Volunteers

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate comprehensively; accuracy, repeatability and reproducibility of T 1 and T 2 relaxation times measured by magnetic resonance fingerprinting using B + 1 -corrected fast imaging with steady-state precession (FISP-MRF). Methods:The International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine/National Institute of Standards and Technology (ISMRM/NIST) phantom was scanned for 100 days, and six healthy volunteers for 5 days using a FISP-MRF prototype sequence. Accuracy was evaluated on the phantom by comparing relaxation times measured by FISP-MRF with the reference values provided by the phantom manufacturer. Daily repeatability was characterized as the coefficient of variation (CV) of the measurements over 100 days for the phantom and over 5 days for volunteers. In addition, the cross-scanner reproducibility was evaluated in volunteers. Results:In the phantom study, T 1 and T 2 values from FISP-MRF showed a strong linear correlation with the reference values of the phantom (R 2 = 0.9963 for T 1 ; R 2 = 0.9966 for T 2 ). CVs were <1.0% for T 1 values larger than 300 ms, and <3.0% for T 2 values across a wide range. In the volunteer study, CVs for both T 1 and T 2 values were <5.0%, except for one subject. In addition, all T 2 values estimated by FISP-MRF in vivo were lower than those measured with conventional mapping sequences reported in previous studies. The crossscanner variation of T 1 and T 2 showed good agreement between two different scanners in the volunteers. Conclusion: B +1 -corrected FISP-MRF showed an acceptable accuracy, repeatability and reproducibility in the phantom and volunteer studies.

Quantitative imaging metrics derived from magnetic resonance fingerprinting using ISMRM/NIST MRI system phantom: An international multicenter repeatability and reproducibility study

“…36,52 By incorporating B 1 + -correction in FISP based MRF, Kato et al reported a CV of <1% for T 1 and <3% for T 2 in selected vials of ISMRM/NIST phantom. 53 A noticeably reduced CV of <3% was reported for a range of T 2 values in the above study compared to the previously reported value of <7% without B 1 correction. 46 A controlled study using a B 1 corrected MRF method could examine the temperature dependence of estimated T 1 and T 2 values.…”

Variability and Standardization of Quantitative Imaging

“…Kato et al 148 investigated FISP-based MRF with B 1 + correction and T1 and T2 measurements on the ISMRM/NIST phantom scanned for 100 days and showed high repeatability with a CV of T1 less than 1% and that of T2 less than 3%, which were better than the values reported by Jiang et al 149 without B 1 + correction. Korzdorfer et al 150 investigated the repeatability and reproducibility of T1 and T2 measurements by FISP-based MRF with B 1 + correction on the brains of 10 healthy volunteers, each of which were scanned 4 times using 4 or more of the 10 MRI scanners; these include 3 different models at 3 T from the same vendor at 4 sites.…”

Intracranial Distribution of Intravenously Administered Gadolinium-based Contrast Agent over a Period of 24 Hours: Evaluation with 3D-real IR Imaging and MR Fingerprinting

“…9 MRF can also be used to evaluate the changes of T 1 and T 2 in brain parenchyma. [10][11][12][13] There is an advantage in that the dynamic range is larger using MRF than for 3D-real IR imaging alone.…”

“…The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of detecting slight contrast effects in CSF and brain parenchyma after intravenous administration of single dose GBCA (IV-SD-GBCA). For this purpose, we used both 3D-real IR imaging 3 , 8 , 9 , 14 and MRF 9 , 10 , 30 pre- and post-intravenous injection of GBCA through 24 h to evaluate the contrast in the CSF, cochlear perilymphatic space, and in the cerebellar white and gray matter. This study represents a next step for research of the glymphatic system in a clinical setting.…”