Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility and image quality of a novel, highly accelerated T1-weighted sequence for time-resolved imaging of the abdomen during the first pass of contrast media transit using controlled aliasing in parallel imaging results in higher acceleration (CAIPIRINHA) under sampling, view-sharing techniques, and Dixon water-fat separation (CAIPRINHA-Dixon-time-resolved imaging with interleaved stochastic trajectories-volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination [CDT-VIBE]).
Materials and methods: In this retrospective, institutional review board-approved study, 47 patients (median age, 62 years; 25 men, 22 women) scanned on a 3.0-T magnetic resonance system (Skyra; Siemens) were included. The CDT-VIBE (repetition time/echo time1/echo time2, 4.1/1.33/2.56 milliseconds; acquisition time, 29 seconds) was used in place of the standard arterial phase acquisition and started 15 seconds after the injection of 0.1 mmol/kg Gd-DOTA (Dotarem, Guerbet). Within 29 seconds, 14 high spatial resolution (1.2 × 1.2 × 3 mm) 3-dimensional data sets were acquired and reconstructed using view sharing (temporal resolution, 2.1 seconds). The CDT-VIBE images were evaluated independently by 2 blinded, experienced radiologists with regard to image quality and the number of hepatic arterial-dominant phases present on an ordinal 5-point scale (5, excellent; 1, nondiagnostic). Added diagnostic information with CDT-VIBE relative to portal venous phase VIBE was assessed.
Results: In all patients, CDT-VIBE measurements were successfully acquired. The image quality was diagnostic in 46 of the 47 patients. Both readers assessed the highest image quality present in the data sets with a median score of 4 (range, 3-5 for both readers; κ, 0.789) and the worst image quality with a median score of 3 (range, 1-4 for both readers; κ, 0.689). With a range between 1 and 8 (median, 5), hepatic arterial-dominant data sets (of the 14 acquired) were obtained in each case. There was an added diagnostic value with CDT-VIBE in 10 of the 47 patients (21%).
Conclusions: The CDT-VIBE is a robust approach allowing, for the first time, dynamic imaging of the upper abdomen with high temporal resolution and preservation of high spatial resolution.