Evaluation of motion correction effect and image quality with the periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction (PROPELLER) (BLADE) and parallel imaging acquisition technique in the upper abdomen

Abstract

Purpose:To evaluate motion correction effect and image quality in the upper abdomen with the periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction (PROPELLER) (BLADE) and parallel imaging acquisition technique. Materials and Methods:A total of 50 consecutive patients underwent abdominal MR imaging. Fat-saturated T2-weighted turbo spin-echo sequences were obtained by respiratory triggering. The subjects were examined with three different conditions of echo train length (ETL), blade width, and percent k-space coverage in the same scanning time: 19/30/100%, 30/30/100%, and 30/52/175%, which were designated as L/C(1), L/C(2), and L/C(3), respectively. The parallel imaging acquisition technique was used to either reduce ETL from 30 to 19 in L/C(1) or increase k-space coverage from 100% to 175% in L/C(3) compared with L/C(2). Motion and streak artifacts, and overall image quality were evaluated visually by two radiologists, independently.Results: Motion and streak artifacts were mostly reduced in L/C(3) condition. The L/C(3) image also gave the best overall image quality compared with other conditions (P Ͻ 0.001). The inter-rater reliability for each evaluation agreed well. Conclusion:In upper abdominal BLADE MRI, it was possible to reduce image artifacts and obtain better image quality by increasing the k-space coverage with parallel imaging in the same scanning time.

Evaluation of the orbit using contrast-enhanced radial 3D fat-suppressedT1weighted gradient echo (Radial-VIBE) sequence

“…Recently, MRI techniques known as PRO-PELLER or BLADE have been introduced to address the motionartefact problem, which acquire k-space data using "blades" consisting of multiple parallel lines that are rotated in k-space in a radial-type scheme. [8][9][10][11] These techniques have demonstrated the substantial improvement in image quality for T 2 weighted 2D TSE acquisitions as well as diffusion-weighted imaging sequences. However, the significant overlap of the blades in k-space leads to inefficient k-space acquisition and, thus, to long acquisition times, which make it impractical to use these sequences for many clinical applications.…”

BLADE in Sagittal T2-Weighted MR Imaging of the Cervical Spine

“…Until now, PROPELLER or BLADE have been applied successfully in MR imaging of the brain to reduce motion artifacts in uncooperative or in pediatric patients [6][7][8][9] or to suppress flow artifacts 10,11 after application of contrast agent. Relevant benefits of PROPELLER or BLADE have also been reported in abdominal imaging, [12][13][14][15] but to our knowledge there are no data published on its application in spine imaging, except for a pilot study on 5 healthy volunteers. 16 Another important application of this technique is DWI, which is usually based on an echo-planar imaging sequence.…”

Lymph Node Disease and Advanced Head and Neck Imaging: A Review of the 2013 Literature

“…BLADE has , c) shows that the node has an irregular border and that there is soft tissue infiltration of the muscle previously shown improvement in image quality by reducing patient motion artifacts [38] and pulsation artifacts related to vascular flow [39,40] and bowel peristalsis [41,42]. Although the study found that pulsation artifacts were reduced and upper thoracic structures were thereby better delineated, the TSE T1 technique showed better contrast between lymph nodes and fat.…”