View Presentation Video

Yujia Huang¹, Peter van Gelderen², Lin Chen^3,4, Jacco A. de Zwart², Zeynep Demir², Gael Saib⁵, Xu Li^3,4, Jeff H. Duyn², and Jiaen Liu^1
1Advanced Imaging Research Center, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States, ²Laboratory of Functional and Molecular Imaging , NINDS, NIH, Bethesda, MD, United States, ³F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States, ⁴Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States, ⁵NMR Research Center, NINDS, NIH, Bethesda, MD, United States

Keywords: Quantitative Imaging, Quantitative Susceptibility mapping

The quantification of decay rate R₂^* and susceptibility is useful in assessment of various neurological disorders manifesting iron accumulation and myelin loss. Conventional 3D GRE acquisition is sensitive to motion and B₀ fluctuation due to its long scan time. In this study, we demonstrated improved reliability of multi-shot multi-echo 3D EPI when compared to GRE, showing reduced scan time and similar accuracy.

View Presentation Video

Divya Ramakrishnan¹, Takuya Toyonaga², Behnaz Khazai³, Matthew Sala¹, Jason Cai², and Mariam Aboian^1
1Department of Radiology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States, ²Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States, ³Department of Radiology, Norwalk Hospital, Norwalk, CT, United States

Keywords: Quantitative Imaging, PET/MR, Synaptic Density, SV2A

There are many different modalities to image synaptic density in the brain. The advent of a novel SV2A targeted PET tracer provides the ability to measure in-vivo synaptic density changes in neuropsychiatric disorders. In this education exhibit, we review the current MR and PET-based approaches to synaptic density imaging and present findings from recent animal and human studies of synaptic density changes in neurodegenerative disorders and epilepsy. Our aim is to provide clinicians with the most up-to-date knowledge about imaging techniques of synaptic density that can be integrated into clinical practice.

View Presentation Video

Brandon Thien Trong Tran¹, Liam S. P. Lawrence¹, Rachel W. Chan², Chia-Lin Tseng³, Jay Detsky³, Hany Soliman³, Arjun Sahgal³, and Angus Z. Lau^1,2
1Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, ²Physical Sciences Platform, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada, ³Radiation Oncology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada

Keywords: Quantitative Imaging, Magnetization transfer

Quantitative magnetization transfer (qMT) imaging could be used to assess tumor response on an MR-Linac. However, qMT protocols which use an off-resonance saturation pulse are slow and does not have the 3D coverage necessary to assess tumor response. We implemented a fast 3D balanced steady-state free precession qMT protocol on the MR-Linac. Six glioblastoma patients were scanned on the MR-Linac at weekly intervals during treatment. qMT parameter maps derived using non-linear least square fitting show similar contrast to other qMT protocols. Within-subject coefficient of variation was higher than values found in literature for off-resonance qMT protocols.

View Presentation Video

Laura Sayaque¹, Benjamin Leporq¹, Chloé Miran², Olivier Hamelin³, Frank Pilleul^1,3, Vincent Gregoire², and Olivier Beuf^1
1Univ Lyon, INSA‐Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, UJM-Saint Etienne, CNRS, Inserm, CREATIS UMR 5220, U1294, F‐69100, Lyon, France, ²CRLCC Léon Bérard – Département de Radiothérapie, Lyon, France, ³CRLCC Léon Bérard – Département de Radiologie, Lyon, France

Keywords: Quantitative Imaging, Head & Neck/ENT, Multimodal

The excellent contrast between soft tissues in MRI is of great interest for head and neck radiotherapy planning. This work presents an in vivo study aiming to evaluate a multimodal acquisition protocol for tumors and organs at risks delineation and synthetic CT reconstruction based on a density assignment method. Our results showed better contrast between the tumor and healthy tissues with injected T1 MRI compared to injected CT (44,7 +/- 30,5 vs 29,9 +/- 27,2) and acceptable geometric distortions (less than 2mm). Fat content mean absolute error between CT and synthetic CT is about 0,27.

View Presentation Video

Adrian Breto¹, Ahmad Algohary¹, Michael Tradewell², Leonardo Bittencourt³, Oleksandr Kryvenko⁴, Mark Gonzalgo², Sanoj Punnen², Dipen Parekh², Bruno Nahar², and Radka Stoyanova^1
1Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States, ²Desai Seth Urology Institute, Miami, FL, United States, ³Department of Radiology, UH Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, United States, ⁴Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States

Keywords: Quantitative Imaging, Prostate, Focused Ultrasound

Detecting prostate cancer recurrence after high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) therapy is a challenge for clinicians. We characterize longitudinal anatomical/functional changes of prostate in men undergoing HIFU therapy for prostate cancer. Nineteen men had mpMRI exams pre-HIFU, and at 1 and 12 months post-HIFU. Prostate volume decreased by 17% on the one year exam and in two-thirds of men changes in prostatic axis, up to 20 degrees in the direction of ablation. Functional mpMRI analysis shows a dramatic decrease in volume transfer constant (K^trans) on dynamic contrast enhancing (DCE) imaging while there were no changes in apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC).

View Presentation Video

Matthew Dausch¹, Sen Ma¹, Xianglun Mao¹, Hsu-Lei Lee¹, Yibin Xie¹, Debiao Li¹, Frank Diaz², and Anthony Christodoulou^1
1Biomedical Imaging Research Institute, Cedaras Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, United States, ²Neurology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Keywords: Quantitative Imaging, Neurodegeneration, MR Multitasking, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative motor disorder that has a need for imaging methods for longitudinal studies.  T1/T2/T1ρ MR multitasking is a multiparametric, quantitative, imaging method that shows promise in being a viable tool for this purpose.  In this study, we tested the feasibility of a motion weighting modified T1/T2/T1ρ MR multitasking in the arm muscles, evaluating the accuracy and precision of quantitative measurements.

View Presentation Video

Daniel Genkin¹, Brandon Zanette², Thomas Benkert³, Felix Ratjen^2,4, Giles Santyr^2,5, and Miranda Kirby^6
1Department of Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON, Canada, ²Department of Translational Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada, ³MR Application Predevelopment, Siemens Healthcare GmbH, Erlangen, Germany, ⁴Department of Pediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, ⁵Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, ⁶Department of Physics, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON, Canada

Keywords: Quantitative Imaging, Lung, UTE, CF, Pediatric

High signal volume (MR-HSV) obtained by Ultrashort Echo-Time (UTE) MRI has been shown to be associated with disease severity in adults with CF, but has yet to be investigated in pediatric CF patients. In this study, MR-HSV was automatically extracted from UTE MRI of pediatric CF (n=9) and healthy (n=4) participants. MR-HSV measurements were significantly increased in CF compared to health, and increased MR-HSV correlated with decreased lung function (ie. FEV_1pp, FEV₁/FVC). The findings in this work confirm that MR-HSV measurement is feasible in pediatric participants and may reflect disease severity associated with airway/parenchyma signal intensity abnormalities in CF.

View Presentation Video

Marius Malte Wernz^1,2, Andreas Voskrebenzev^1,2, Robin Müller^1,2, Maximilian Zubke^1,2, Filip Klimeš^1,2, Gesa Pöhler^1,2, Frank Wacker^1,2, and Jens Vogel-Claussen^1,2
1Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany, ²Biomedical Research in Endstage and Obstructive Lung Disease Hannover (BREATH), German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Hannover, Germany

Keywords: Quantitative Imaging, Velocity & Flow

Phase-resolved functional lung (PREFUL) MRI-derived flow cycles are used to calculate time differences in blood flow and thus mean velocity between the truncus pulmonalis and voxels located in main pulmonary arteries. Two U-Net-based convolutional neural networks are used to identify voxels to include in the analysis. In 26 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) the resulting pulmonary artery pulse wave velocity (paPWV) values are reproducible after two weeks. The measured velocities in COPD patients and in 30 healthy subjects are in a physiologically plausible range compared to invasive measurements.
 

View Presentation Video

Jochen Schmidt^1,2, Dvir Radunsky³, Patrick Scheibe¹, Noam Ben-Eliezer^3,4,5, Robert Trampel¹, and Nikolaus Weiskopf^1,6
1Neurophysics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany, ²International Max Planck Research School on Neuroscience of Communication: Function, Structure and Plasticity, Leipzig, Germany, ³Biomedical Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel, ⁴Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel, ⁵Center for Advanced Imaging Innovation and Research (CAI2R), New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, United States, ⁶Felix Bloch Institute for Solid State Physics, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany

Keywords: Quantitative Imaging, Sparse & Low-Rank Models

Quantitative T₂ mapping at ultra high-field via multi-echo spin-echo acquisitions suffers from bias introduced by pronounced transmit field inhomogeneities. Hence, accurate signal modeling is vital. Futhermore, high-resolution imaging results in longer scan times, which need to be compensated by k-space undersampling. Conventional undersampling schemes for multi-echo approaches skip identical phase encoding areas for all echo readouts. Image reconstruction quality might be improved by varying the sampling across echoes and using a low rank reconstruction approach. A multi-echo acquisition combining sparse undersampling with a dictionary modelling method was successfully used to acquire accurate T2 at 7T with a high acceleration.

View Presentation Video

Corina Margain¹, Christopher Sandino², Shreyas Vasanawala³, and Adam Bush^1
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States, ²Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States, ³Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States

Keywords: Quantitative Imaging, Phantoms, non-cartesian

Blood-oxygen level is a known biomarker for cardiovascular diseases which can be quantified by T2*-weighted MRI. Challenges with validation and motion have limited the clinical use of T2* oximetry methods. We present a PALMS sequence to measure flowing T2* which was validated using a pneumatically powered, low-volume, continuous flow phantom. Our results suggest that the presence of readout gradients influence T2* during flowing conditions while obliquity influences T2* in all settings conditions. 

View Presentation Video

Xiaobing Fan¹, Aritrick Chatterjee¹, Zhen Ren¹, Aytekin Oto¹, and Gregory S. Karczmar^1
1Radiology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States

Keywords: Quantitative Imaging, Cancer

The extended Tofts model (ETM) requires calculation of contrast agent concentration in tissue as function of time (C(t)) using a non-linear model that results in error propagation. Here, we introduce a signal intensity (S(t)) form of ETM (SI-ETM) without calculating C(t). QIBA DCE-MRI data was used to validate the SI-ETM, and then human prostate DCE-MRI data were analyzed to compare physiological parameters calculated from the ETM and the SI-ETM. The parameters calculated from S(t) were strongly correlated with the values calculated from C(t). Bland–Altman analysis showed good agreement between the parameters calculated from the ETM and the SI-ETM.

View Presentation Video

Natascha Karolina Gruenebach¹, Antoine Sanner¹, Nils Friedrich Grauhan¹, Mario Alberto Abello Mercado¹, Andrea Kronfeld¹, Vanessa Ines Schoeffling¹, Tom Hilbert^2,3,4, Marc A. Brockmann¹, and Ahmed E. Othman^1
1University medical center Mainz, Mainz, Germany, ²Advanced Clinical Imaging Technology, Siemens Healthineers International AG, Lausanne, Switzerland, ³Department of Radiology, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland, ⁴LTS5, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland

Keywords: Quantitative Imaging, Relaxometry, T2 Mapping

We aimed to validate the clinical feasibility of the quantitative imaging MR-sequence GRAPPATINI. It offers T2 relaxometry values as well as synthetic T2-weighted images of the whole brain. 10 volunteers for the validation of repeatability and reproducebility on intra- and intersubject level and 52 patients for the morphological comparison between GRAPPATINI and standard T2-weighted sequence were included prospectively. T2 relaxation times of GRAPPATINI are robust and show only little variations among healthy subjects. Larger deviations only were found in caudate nucleus. Moreover its synthetic T2-weighted images achieve good interrater-reliability, although its subjective image quality is not equivalent to standard TSE.

View Presentation Video

Difei Wang¹, Rüdiger Stirnberg¹, and Tony Stöcker^1,2
1MR Physics, DZNE, Bonn, Germany, ²Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany

Keywords: Quantitative Imaging, Modelling, Quantitative imaging, Relaxometry, Neuro

A recent study demonstrated that phase-based T2 mapping with 3D-GRE is feasible. Only two phase images acquired with a small RF spoiling phase increment are needed to generate high-quality T2 maps. Here, we investigated simultaneous T2 and T1 mapping at 3T, by including the magnitude and more phase increments acquired rapidly with a skipped-CAIPI 3D-EPI sequence. This method is able to simultaneously provide T2 and T1 maps within 4-8 minutes. In addition to multiparametric mapping, a phase-based T2 map can be provided in less than 1 minute.

View Presentation Video

Dana Schonberger^1,2, Daphna Link-Sourani¹, Netanell Avisdris^1,3, Aviad Rabinowich^1,4,5, Bella Specktopr Fadida^1,3, Liat Ben-Sira^4,6,7, Leo Joskowicz³, Liran Hiersch⁸, Ayala Zilberman⁸, and Dafna Ben Bashat^1,4,7
1Sagol Brain Institute, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel, ²The Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel, ³School of Computer Science and Engineering, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel, ⁴Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel, ⁵Department of Radiology, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Israel, Tel Aviv, Israel, ⁶Division of Pediatric Radiology, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Israel, Tel Aviv, Israel, ⁷Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel, ⁸Department of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and High Risk Pregnancy Outpatient clinic, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel

Keywords: Quantitative Imaging, Perfusion, Intravoxel incoherent motion, IVIM

Placental structural and functional parameters are important for the assessment of placental insufficiency and fetal growth. Here we assessed quantitative measures of placental structural and functional parameters extracted from Intravoxel-incoherent motion (IVIM) with radiomics analysis, in fetuses with growth restriction (FGR) and appropriate for gestational age (AGA). Placental structure (volume and centricity index (CI, umbilical cord insertion location) were correlated with radiomics features of placental perfusion in AGA, and some were found to be significantly different between FGR and AGA, indicating higher functional heterogeneity in FGR. This multi-parametric quantitative placental assessment may improve identification of FGR fetuses. 

View Presentation Video

Mira Liu¹, Chisondi Simba Warioba¹, Julian Bertini¹, Niloufar Saadat², Timothy Carroll¹, and Gregory Christoforidis^2
1University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States, ²Interventional Radiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States

Keywords: Quantitative Imaging, Perfusion

Intravoxel Incoherent Motion (IVIM) is a non-contrast MR diffusion-based scan that uses a multitude of b-values to measure various speeds of molecular perfusion and diffusion, sidestepping problems of Gd-contrast or increased transit time in neurovascular disease. Quantification of IVIM CBF in ml/100g/min using pseudo-diffusion mean transit time led to strong Wilcoxon signed rank agreement, similar sensitivity, and a small offset compared to microsphere perfusion across three physiologic states. This suggests IVIM can be used to quantify CBF in ml/100g/min in a setting of cerebral steno-occlusive disease.

View Presentation Video

Hao Peng¹, Chuanli Cheng¹, Xin Liu¹, Hairong Zheng¹, and Chao Zou^1
1Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology,Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China

Keywords: Quantitative Imaging, Quantitative Imaging

The phase unwrapping technique is only applicable to the fat-water separation problems with IP/OP acquisition. This work developed a transition approach that enabled phase unwrapping technique applicable to fat-water separation with arbitrary TE combination. By establishing intermediate variables, the proposed method provided an effective way to diminish the traditional “ambiguity” problem. To validate the concept, datasets acquired with various field strength, anatomical areas and acquisition types (two-point and six-point acquisition) were applied, and no fat-water swaps were observed.

View Presentation Video

Nathan Ooms¹, Humberto Monsevais¹, and Ulrike Dydak^1
1School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States

Keywords: Quantitative Imaging, Body

Hashimoto Thyroiditis is an autoimmune disease that largely effects women, and can cause fatigue, unexplained weight loss or gain, enlargement of the thyroid gland, and other symptoms. We are proposing utilizing T2* mapping to quantify the thyroid gland in the presence and absence of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. Very little has been studied using T2* techniques in the thyroid gland, and what has been studies has focused on evaluating for nodules and cancer. We hope to broaden the capabilities to establish normal ranges and evaluate the effects of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. 

View Presentation Video

Emma Biondetti^1,2, Alessandro Villani^1,2, Alessandra S. Caporale^1,2, Antonio Maria Chiarelli^1,2, Darien Calvo Garcia^1,2, Massimo Caulo^1,2,3, Valentina Tomassini^1,2,4,5, and Richard G. Wise^1,2,5
1Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, 'G. d’Annunzio University' of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy, ²Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), 'G. d’Annunzio University' of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy, ³Department of Radiology, 'SS. Annunziata' University Hospital, Chieti, Italy, ⁴MS Centre, Department of Clinical Neurology, 'SS. Annunziata' University Hospital, Chieti, Italy, ⁵Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom

Keywords: Quantitative Imaging, Oxygenation

The brain’s oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) is a key parameter in assessing cerebrovascular function and brain oxygen consumption. We investigated the feasibility of measuring cerebral venous oxygenation (SvO₂), the key determinant of OEF, based on R2* estimated from a clinical susceptibility weighted imaging protocol and vessel segmentation aided by gadolinium administration, in a cohort of patients with Multiple Sclerosis. We were able to estimate venous oxygenation in the superior sagittal sinus, straight sinus, transverse sinuses and internal cerebral veins. The global median SvO₂ ranged between 0.60 and 0.68, within the range of values expected in the human brain.

View Presentation Video

Gregory Peng¹, Can Wu², Jafari Ramin³, Yansong Zhao³, and Qi Peng^1
1Department of Radiology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, United States, ²Department of Medical Physics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, United States, ³Philips Healthcare, Cambridge, MA, United States

Keywords: Quantitative Imaging, Quantitative Imaging, T1rho dispersion imaging

T1ρ dispersion imaging based on repeated T1ρ measurements at multiple spin-lock frequencies allows characterization of different dynamic processes of tissues. The clinical potential of these techniques is, however, limited by the total scan time needed to obtain reliable and consistent quantitative measurements. In this abstract, we propose the application of a 4D dynamic sequence with radial acquisitions in combination with an accelerated data-point sampling strategy to achieve efficient coverage of the high-dimensional data space in T1rho dispersion MRI, which leads to high-resolution 3D T1rho dispersion imaging acquired within clinically acceptable scan duration of ~5 minutes. 

View Presentation Video

Roderic I Pettigrew¹, Raja Muthupillai¹, Erick Buko^2,3, Michaela Martin⁴, and Andre Fischer^4
1School of Engineering Medicine, Texas A&M University, Houston, TX, United States, ²Veterinary Clinical Sciences, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN, United States, ³Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States, ⁴Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany

Keywords: Quantitative Imaging, Prostate, multi parametric MRI

We demonstrate the feasibility of obtaining high b-value (b > 2400 s/mm²) DWI images of the prostate obtained with short echo times (TE ~ 50 ms) on a prototype high-performance whole-body gradient system (Gmax = 200 mT/m, and SRmax = 200 T/m/s).  Preliminary results from volunteers suggest that the apparent differences in the perfusion fraction metric of the IVIM model between the transition and peripheral zones of the prostate partly can be substantially diminished by choosing a shorter TE using high-performance gradients.