Efficient Interleaved Multi-Band Outer Volume Suppression for Highly Accelerated Simultaneous Multi-Slice Imaging of the Heart

Bioengineering, vol. 13, pp. 286

Abstract

In this work, we aimed to develop and evaluate multi-band outer volume suppression pulses for increased acceleration rates in simultaneous multi-slice accelerated cardiac MRI. MB-OVS pulses were constructed from a multi-band combination of two slab-selective saturation pulses and tested for various pulse shapes using Bloch simulation and phantom experiment. The MB-OVS pulses were interleaved between imaging pulses to ensure homogeneous suppression throughout the cardiac cycle/imaging window in vivo. Simultaneous multi-slice (SMS) CINE and first-pass myocardial perfusion scans with and without the proposed MB-OVS pulses were compared in terms of residual artifacts at high acceleration rates. Among the tested pulses, both Bloch simulation and phantom experiments showed that amplitude-optimized sinc pulses provided the best trade-off in suppression efficiency, the required B1+, SAR, and slab profile. CINE imaging with 5-fold SMS-OVS acceleration significantly outperformed imaging without MB-OVS, maintaining leakage-free image quality, even when adding 2-fold in-plane acceleration. SMS-OVS also enabled perfusion imaging in 9 slices with 1.7 × 1.7 mm2 resolution, achieving a 16-fold spatial-only acceleration while ensuring accurate contrast dynamics without leakage artifacts. Interleaved MB-OVS modules enabled thorough leakage artifact suppression in cardiac SMS-accelerated CINE and perfusion imaging, particularly at high acceleration rates. The proposed approach may be promising for unlocking further acceleration potential of SMS in cardiac imaging.

Authors 9

1. Ayda Arami Aachen Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center

   Leiden University Medical Center · Delft University of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Imaging Physics, Delft University of Technology, 2628 CJ Delft, The Netherlands

   Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZG Leiden, The Netherlands

2. Ömer Burak Demirel
   Affiliation as printed

   Philips North America, Rochester, MN 55902, USA

3. Toygan Kılıç

   University of Minnesota

   Affiliation as printed

   Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA

   Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA

4. Steen Moeller

   University of Minnesota

   Affiliation as printed

   Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA

5. Yidong Zhao

   Delft University of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Imaging Physics, Delft University of Technology, 2628 CJ Delft, The Netherlands

6. Qian Tao

   Delft University of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Imaging Physics, Delft University of Technology, 2628 CJ Delft, The Netherlands

7. Hildo J. Lamb Aachen Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center

   Leiden University Medical Center

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZG Leiden, The Netherlands

8. Mehmet Akçakaya

   University of Minnesota

   Affiliation as printed

   Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA

   Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA

9. Sebastian Weingärtner corresponding

   Delft University of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Imaging Physics, Delft University of Technology, 2628 CJ Delft, The Netherlands