A methodology for co-registering abdominal MR images over multiple breath-holds.
Previous studies have demonstrated that the SNR of abdominal MR images can be increased by averaging images obtained in different breath-hold acquisitions. In this note, the authors present a simple new methodology for ensuring that images acquired in multiple breath-hold periods are accurately co-registered. Within each breath-hold, a quick coronal scout scan is followed by a longer axial scan. The scout is used to position the axial slices in a fixed position relative to the organ under examination. This MR technique can, in principle, be automated so as to add less than 1 s to the imaging time of the axial scan. The method can be used to increase SNR by signal averaging or to co-register images acquired during, for example, uptake of contrast agents. SNR improvement with negligible blurring is demonstrated in liver images acquired by this method from healthy volunteers.
Duke Scholars
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- Respiration
- Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging
- Liver
- Humans
- Abdomen
- 4003 Biomedical engineering
- 0903 Biomedical Engineering
Citation
Published In
DOI
ISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Location
Related Subject Headings
- Respiration
- Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging
- Liver
- Humans
- Abdomen
- 4003 Biomedical engineering
- 0903 Biomedical Engineering