Development and stability analysis of carpal kinematic metrics from 4D magnetic resonance imaging.

OBJECTIVE: To develop MRI-derived carpal kinematic metrics and investigating their stability. METHODS: The study used a 4D MRI method to track scaphoid, lunate, and capitate movements in the wrist. A panel of 120 metrics for radial-ulnar deviation and flexion-extension was created using polynomial models of scaphoid and lunate movements relative to the capitate. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) analyzed intra- and inter-subject stability in 49 subjects, 20 with and 29 without wrist injury history. RESULTS: Comparable degrees of stability were observed across the two different wrist movements. Among the total 120 derived metrics, distinct subsets demonstrated high stability within each type of movement. For asymptomatic subjects, 16 out of 17 metrics with high intra-subject stability also showed high inter-subject stability. The differential analysis of ICC values for each metric between asymptomatic and symptomatic cohorts revealed specific metrics (although relatively unstable) exhibiting greater variability in the symptomatic cohort, thereby highlighting the impact of wrist conditions on the variability of kinematic metrics. CONCLUSION: The findings demonstrate the developing potential of dynamic MRI for assessing and characterizing complex carpal bone dynamics. Stability analyses of the derived kinematic metrics revealed encouraging differences between cohorts with and without wrist injury histories. Although these broad metric stability variations highlight the potential utility of this approach for analyzing carpal instability, further studies are necessary to better characterize these observations.

Neutral to slightly undercorrected mechanical leg alignment provides superior long-term results in patients undergoing matrix-associated autologous chondrocyte implantation.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of leg alignment on long-term clinical outcome after matrix-associated autologous chondrocyte implantation (M-ACI) and to define an individualized target range to optimize clinical outcome. METHODS: The present study examined patients who underwent M-ACI of the femoral condyle. The Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) and Magnetic Resonance Observation of Cartilage Repair Tissue (MOCART) were used to assess the results. Clinical outcomes were related to Patient Acceptable Symptomatic State (PASS). For intra- and interobserver reliability of mechanical tibiofemoral angle, mechanical medial proximal tibial angle and mechanical lateral distal femoral angle, we calculated intraclass correlation coefficients using a two-way mixed model with absolute agreement. A regression model and receiver-operating characteristics curve were used to identify an individual range of alignment where a favourable clinical outcome could be expected in the long term. RESULTS: Additional osteotomy was performed in 50% of patients with similar clinical outcomes as physiologically aligned patients (p > 0.05). The curve-fitting regression model identified a target range of -2.5° valgus to 4.5° varus for ideal postoperative alignment (R2 = 0.12, p = 0.01). Patients within this range were more likely to achieve PASS (70% vs. 27%, p = 0.001). In medially treated defects, a refined range of -2.5° valgus to 4° varus alignment was found (R2 = 0.15, p = 0.01). These patients were more likely to achieve PASS (67% vs. 30%, p = 0.01) and showed favourable postoperative KOOS and MOCART scores (p = 0.02). Patients with lateral defects were more likely to achieve PASS within a range of -2° valgus and 0.5° varus (90% vs. 45%, p = 0.03) and showed favourable postoperative KOOS and MOCART scores (p = not significant). CONCLUSIONS: An individual range of leg alignment-whether achieved by osteotomy or physiologic alignment-should be respected in M-ACI treatment. A neutral to slightly undercorrected alignment favours the postoperative outcome after M-ACI. When planning surgery for patients with focal cartilage defects of the femoral condyle, these ranges should be recognized as critical factors. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III.

Vertebral Body Bone Ablation with and without a Saline-Infused System in a Porcine Model.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of bone radiofrequency (RF) ablation in the spine with and without controlled saline infusion. RF ablation with and without controlled saline infusion was performed in the vertebral bodies of 2 swine with real-time temperature and impedance recordings. Histology and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging results were reviewed to evaluate the ablation zone size, breach of spinal canal, and damage to the spinal cord and nerves. There was no difference in maximum and mean temperatures between controlled saline and noninfusion groups. The impedance and power output were not significantly different between the groups. MR imaging and histopathology demonstrated ablation zones confined within the vertebral bodies. Ablation zone size correlated on MR imaging and histopathology by groups. No ablation effect, breach of posterior cortex, spinal cord injury, or nerve or ganglion injury was observed at any level using MR imaging or histology. Controlled saline infusion does not appear to impact bone RF ablation and, specifically, does not increase the ablation zone size.

Short- to mid-term results of minimally invasive lateral unicompartmental knee replacement: 133 cases in a non-designer series.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of the current study was to demonstrate short- to mid-term survivorship as well as clinical outcome of lateral unicompartmental knee replacement (UKR) with a fixed-bearing (FB) design from a non-designer center using the Oxford Fixed Lateral prosthesis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This single-center retrospective cohort study reports the results of 133 consecutive lateral FB-UKR. Survivorship analysis was performed with different endpoints and clinical outcome was measured using the Oxford-Knee-Score (OKS), American-Knee-Society-Score (AKSS-O), range-of-motion (ROM) and visual-analog-scale for pain (VAS). RESULTS: There were two revision surgeries with conversion to total knee replacements (TKR) due to persistent pain resulting in a survival rate of 98.5% (95% CI 93.5-99.6) with a mean follow-up (FU) of 3.3 ± 1.8 years (range 1-8.5). All outcome scores, VAS and ROM showed a significant improvement at final FU (p < 0.001). The OKS improved from 26 ± 7.8 (range 11-45) preoperatively to 39 ± 8.3 (range 13-48), the AKSS-O from 49.2 ± 14.6 (range 18-90) to 81.8 ± 15.1 (range 40-100), the AKSS-F from 53 ± 23.7 (range 0-100) to 80.4 ± 21.4 (range 5-100) and the ROM from 118 ± 17 (range 90-160) to 134 ± 9.5 (range 100-155). CONCLUSIONS: The short- to mid-term results following lateral FB-UKR demonstrate a high survivorship and good clinical outcome from an independent series. We, therefore, suggest that FB-UKR is a safe treatment option for isolated lateral OA if sufficient surgical experience is provided. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Retrospective cohort study, level IV.

Understanding the Interactions Between Driving Behavior and Well-being in Daily Driving: Causal Analysis of a Field Study.

BACKGROUND: Investigating ways to improve well-being in everyday situations as a means of fostering mental health has gained substantial interest in recent years. For many people, the daily commute by car is a particularly straining situation of the day, and thus researchers have already designed various in-vehicle well-being interventions for a better commuting experience. Current research has validated such interventions but is limited to isolating effects in controlled experiments that are generally not representative of real-world driving conditions. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to identify cause-effect relationships between driving behavior and well-being in a real-world setting. This knowledge should contribute to a better understanding of when to trigger interventions. METHODS: We conducted a field study in which we provided a demographically diverse sample of 10 commuters with a car for daily driving over a period of 4 months. Before and after each trip, the drivers had to fill out a questionnaire about their state of well-being, which was operationalized as arousal and valence. We equipped the cars with sensors that recorded driving behavior, such as sudden braking. We also captured trip-dependent factors, such as the length of the drive, and predetermined factors, such as the weather. We conducted a causal analysis based on a causal directed acyclic graph (DAG) to examine cause-effect relationships from the observational data and to isolate the causal chains between the examined variables. We did so by applying the backdoor criterion to the data-based graphical model. The hereby compiled adjustment set was used in a multiple regression to estimate the causal effects between the variables. RESULTS: The causal analysis showed that a higher level of arousal before driving influences driving behavior. Higher arousal reduced the frequency of sudden events (P=.04) as well as the average speed (P=.001), while fostering active steering (P<.001). In turn, more frequent braking (P<.001) increased arousal after the drive, while a longer trip (P<.001) with a higher average speed (P<.001) reduced arousal. The prevalence of sunshine (P<.001) increased arousal and of occupants (P<.001) increased valence (P<.001) before and after driving. CONCLUSIONS: The examination of cause-effect relationships unveiled significant interactions between well-being and driving. A low level of predriving arousal impairs driving behavior, which manifests itself in more frequent sudden events and less anticipatory driving. Driving has a stronger effect on arousal than on valence. In particular, monotonous driving situations at high speeds with low cognitive demand increase the risk of the driver becoming tired (low arousal), thus impairing driving behavior. By combining the identified causal chains, states of vulnerability can be inferred that may form the basis for timely delivered interventions to improve well-being while driving.

Split-slice training and hyperparameter tuning of RAKI networks for simultaneous multi-slice reconstruction.

PURPOSE: Simultaneous multi-slice acquisitions are essential for modern neuroimaging research, enabling high temporal resolution functional and high-resolution q-space sampling diffusion acquisitions. Recently, deep learning reconstruction techniques have been introduced for unaliasing these accelerated acquisitions, and robust artificial-neural-networks for k-space interpolation (RAKI) have shown promising capabilities. This study systematically examines the impacts of hyperparameter selections for RAKI networks, and introduces a novel technique for training data generation which is analogous to the split-slice formalism used in slice-GRAPPA. METHODS: RAKI networks were developed with variable hyperparameters and with and without split-slice training data generation. Each network was trained and applied to five different datasets including acquisitions harmonized with Human Connectome Project lifespan protocol. Unaliasing performance was assessed through L1 errors computed between unaliased and calibration frequency-space data. RESULTS: Split-slice training significantly improved network performance in nearly all hyperparameter configurations. Best unaliasing results were achieved with three layer RAKI networks using at least 64 convolutional filters with receptive fields of 7 voxels, 128 single-voxel filters in the penultimate RAKI layer, batch normalization, and no training dropout with the split-slice augmented training dataset. Networks trained without the split-slice technique showed symptoms of network over-fitting. CONCLUSIONS: Split-slice training for simultaneous multi-slice RAKI networks positively impacts network performance. Hyperparameter tuning of such reconstruction networks can lead to further improvements in unaliasing performance.

Quantitative correlation of lumbar foraminal stenosis with local morphological metrics.

PURPOSE: Clinical evaluation of lumbar foraminal stenosis typically includes qualitative assessments of perineural epidural fat content around the spinal nerve root and evaluation of nerve root impingement. The present study investigates the use of several morphological MRI-derived metrics as quantitative predictors of foraminal stenosis grade. METHODS: 62 adult patients that underwent lumbar spine MRI evaluation over a 1-month duration in 2018 were included in the analysis. Radiological gradings of stenosis were captured from the existing clinical electronic medical record. Clinical gradings were recorded using a 0-5 scale: 0 = no stenosis, 1 = mild stenosis, 2 = mild-moderate stenosis, 3 = moderate stenosis, 4 = moderate-severe stenosis, 5 = severe stenosis. Quantitative measures of perineural epidural fat volume, nerve root cross-sectional area, and lumbar pedicle length were derived from T1 weighted sagittal spine MRI on each side of all lumbar levels. Spearman correlations of each measured metric at each level were then computed against the stenosis gradings. RESULTS: A total of 347 volumetric segmentation and radiological foraminal stenosis grade sets were derived from the 62-subject study cohort. Statistical analysis revealed significant correlations (p < 0.001) between the volume of perineural fat and stenosis grades for all lumbar vertebral levels. CONCLUSION: The results of the study have demonstrated that segmented volumes of perineural fat predict the severity of clinically scored foraminal stenosis. This finding motivates further development of automated perineural fat segmentation methods, which could offer a quantitative imaging biometric that yields more reproducible diagnosis, assessment, and tracking of foraminal stenosis.

Multispectral diffusion-weighted MRI of the instrumented cervical spinal cord: a preliminary study of 5 cases.

PURPOSE: Diffusion-weighted imaging has undergone substantial investigation as a potential tool for advanced assessment of spinal cord health. Unfortunately, commonly encountered surgically implanted spinal hardware has historically disrupted these studies. This preliminary investigation applies the recently developed multispectral diffusion-weighted PROPELLER technique to quantitative assessment of the spinal cord immediately adjacent to metallic spinal fusion instrumentation. METHODS: Morphological and diffusion-weighted MRI of the spinal cord was collected from 5 subjects with implanted cervical spinal fusion hardware. Conventional and multispectral diffusion-weighted images were also collected on a normative non-instrumented control cohort and utilized for methodological stability analysis. Variance of the ADC values derived from the normative control group was then analyzed on a subject-by-subject basis and qualitatively correlated with clinical morphological interpretations. RESULTS: Normative control ADC values within the spinal cord were stable across DWI methods for a b value of 600 s/mm2, though this stability degraded at lower b value levels. Susceptibility artifacts precluded conventional DWI analysis of the cord in subjects with spinal fusion hardware in 4 of the 5 test cases. On the contrary, multispectral PROPELLER DWI produced viable ADC measurements within the cord of all 5 instrumented subjects. Instrumented cord regions without obvious pathology (N = 4) showed ADC values that were lower than expected, whereas one subject with diagnosed myelomalacia showed abnormally elevated ADC. CONCLUSIONS: In the absence of instrumentation, multispectral DWI provides quantitative capabilities that match with those of conventional DWI approaches. In a preliminary instrumented subject analysis, cord ADC values showed both expected and unexpected variations from the normative cohort. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.

3D-multi-spectral T2 mapping near metal implants.

PURPOSE: Due to host-mediated adverse reaction to metallic debris, there is an increasing need for noninvasive assessment of the soft tissue surrounding large joint arthroplasties. Quantitative T2 mapping can be beneficial for tissue characterization and early diagnosis of tissue pathology but current T2 mapping techniques lack the capability to image near metal hardware. A novel multi-spectral T2 mapping technique is proposed to address this unmet need. METHODS: A T2 mapping pulse sequence based on routinely implemented 3D multi-spectral imaging (3D-MSI) pulse sequences is described and demonstrated. The 3D-MSI pulse sequence is altered to acquire images at 2 echo times. Phantom and knee experiments were performed to assess the quantitative capabilities of the sequence in comparison to a commercially available T2 mapping sequence. The technique was demonstrated for use within a clinical protocol in 2 total hip arthroplasty (THA) cases to assess T2 variations within the periprosthetic joint space. RESULTS: The proposed multi-spectral T2 mapping technique agreed, within experimental errors, with T2 values derived from a commercially available clinical standard of care T2 mapping sequence. The same level of agreement was observed in quantitative phantoms and in vivo experiments. In THA cases, the method was able to assess variations of T2 within the synovial envelope immediately adjacent to implant interfaces. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed 3D-MSI T2 mapping sequence was successfully demonstrated in assessing tissue T2 variations near metal implants.

Fully phase-encoded MRI near metallic implants using ultrashort echo times and broadband excitation.

PURPOSE: To develop a fully phase-encoded MRI method for distortion-free imaging near metallic implants, in clinically feasible acquisition times. THEORY AND METHODS: An accelerated 3D fully phase-encoded acquisition with broadband excitation and ultrashort echo times is presented, which uses a broadband radiofrequency pulse to excite the entire off-resonance induced by the metallic implant. Furthermore, fully phase-encoded imaging is used to prevent distortions caused by frequency encoding, and to obtain ultrashort echo times for rapidly decaying signal. RESULTS: Phantom and in vivo acquisitions were used to describe the relationship among excitation bandwidth, signal loss near metallic implants, and T1 weighting. Shorter radiofrequency pulses captured signal closer to the implant by improving spectral coverage and allowing shorter echo times, whereas longer pulses improved T1 weighting through larger maximum attainable flip angles. Comparisons of fully phase-encoded acquisition with broadband excitation and ultrashort echo times to T1 -weighted multi-acquisition with variable resonance image combination selective were performed in phantoms and subjects with metallic knee and hip prostheses. These acquisitions had similar contrast and acquisition efficiency. CONCLUSIONS: Accelerated fully phase-encoded acquisitions with ultrashort echo times and broadband excitation can generate distortion free images near metallic implants in clinically feasible acquisition times. Magn Reson Med 79:2156-2163, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Multispectral diffusion-weighted imaging near metal implants.

PURPOSE: The need for diffusion-weighted-imaging (DWI) near metallic implants is becoming increasingly relevant for a variety of clinical diagnostic applications. Conventional DWI methods are significantly hindered by metal-induced image artifacts. A novel approach relying on multispectral susceptibility artifact reduction techniques is presented to address this unmet need. METHODS: DWI near metal implants is achieved through a combination of several advanced MRI acquisition technologies. Previously described approaches to Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill spin-echo train DWI sequences using the periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction are combined with multispectral-imaging metal artifact reduction principles to provide DWI with substantially reduced artifact levels. The presented methods are applied to limited sets of slices over areas of sarcoma risk near six implanted devices. RESULTS: Using the presented methods, DWI assessment without bulk image distortions is demonstrated in the immediate vicinity of metallic interfaces. In one subject, the apparent diffusion coefficient was reduced in a region of suspected sarcoma directly adjacent to fixation hardware. CONCLUSIONS: An initial demonstration of minimal-artifact multispectral DWI in the near vicinity of metallic hardware is described and successfully demonstrated on clinical subjects. Magn Reson Med 79:987-993, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Off-resonance based assessment of metallic wear debris near total hip arthroplasty.

PURPOSE: The presence of metallic debris near total hip arthroplasty can have a significant impact on longitudinal patient management. Methods for magnetic resonance imaging-based quantification of metallic debris near painful total hip replacements are described and applied to cohorts of symptomatic and control subject cases. METHODS: A combination of metal artifact reduction, off-resonance mapping, off-resonance background removal, and spatial clustering methods are utilized to quantify off-resonance signatures in cases of suspected metallosis. These methods are applied to a cohort of symptomatic hip arthroplasties composed of cobalt-chromium alloys. Magnetostatic simulations and theoretical principles are used to illuminate the potential sources of the measured off-resonance effects. Reported metrics from histological tissue assays extracted during surgical revision procedures are also correlated with the proposed magnetic resonance imaging-based quantification results. RESULTS: The presented methods identified quantifiable metallosis signatures in more than 70% of the symptomatic and none of the control cases. Preliminary correlations of the MR data with direct histological evaluation of retrieved tissue samples indicate that the observed off-resonance effect may be related to tissue necrosis. CONCLUSIONS: Magnetostatic simulations, theoretical principles, and preliminary histological trends suggest that disassociated cobalt is the source of the observed off-resonance signature. Magn Reson Med 79:1628-1637, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Peripheral nerve diffusion tensor imaging: Overview, pitfalls, and future directions.

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique that measures the extent of restricted water diffusion and anisotropy in biological tissue. Although DTI has been widely applied in the brain, more recently researchers have used it to characterize nerve pathology in the setting of entrapment neuropathy, traumatic injury, and tumor. DTI artifacts are exacerbated when imaging off isocenter in the body. Anecdotally, the most significant artifacts in peripheral nerve DTI include magnetic field inhomogeneity, motion, incomplete fat suppression, aliasing, and distortion. High spatial resolution is also required to reliably evaluate smaller peripheral nerves. This article provides an overview of such technical issues, particularly when trying to apply DTI in the clinical setting, and offers potential solutions. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 5 Technical Efficacy: Stage 3 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2018;47:1171-1189.

Metallic implant geometry and susceptibility estimation using multispectral B0 field maps.

PURPOSE: To estimate the susceptibility and the geometry of metallic implants from multispectral imaging (MSI) information, to separate the metal implant region from the surrounding signal loss region. THEORY AND METHODS: The susceptibility map of signal-void regions is estimated from MSI B0 field maps using total variation (TV) regularized inversion. Voxels with susceptibility estimates above a predetermined threshold are identified as metal. The accuracy of the estimated susceptibility and implant geometry was evaluated in simulations, phantom, and in vivo experiments. RESULTS: The proposed method provided more accurate susceptibility estimation compared with a previous method without TV regularization, in both simulations and phantom experiments. In the phantom experiment where the actual implant was 40% of the signal-void region, the mean estimated susceptibility was close to the susceptibility in literature, and the precision and recall of the estimated geometry was 85% and 93%. In vivo studies in subjects with hip implants also demonstrated that the proposed method can distinguish implants from surrounding low-signal tissues, such as cortical bone. CONCLUSION: The proposed method can improve the delineation of metallic implant geometry by distinguishing metal voxels from artificial signal voids and low-signal tissues by estimating the susceptibility maps. Magn Reson Med 77:2402-2413, 2017. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Imaging near orthopedic hardware.

Over one million total joint replacement surgeries were performed in the US in 2013 alone, and this number is expected to more than double by 2030. Traditional imaging techniques for postoperative evaluation of implanted devices, such as radiography, computerized tomography, or ultrasound, utilize ionizing radiation, suffer from beam hardening artifact, or lack the inherent high contrast necessary to adequately evaluate soft tissues around the implants, respectively. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), due to its ability to generate multiplanar, high-contrast images without the use of ionizing radiation is ideal for evaluating periprosthetic soft tissues but has traditionally suffered from in-plane and through-plane data misregistration due to the magnetic susceptibility of implanted materials. A recent renaissance in the interest of imaging near arthroplasty and implanted orthopedic hardware has led to the development of new techniques that help to mitigate the effects of magnetic susceptibility. This article describes the challenges of performing imaging near implanted orthopedic hardware, how to generate clinically interpretable images when imaging near implanted devices, and how the images may be interpreted for clinical use. We will also describe current developments of utilizing MRI to evaluate implanted orthopedic hardware. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3 Technical Efficacy: Stage 2 J. MAGN. RESON. IMAGING 2017;46:24-39.

Quantifying metal-induced susceptibility artifacts of the instrumented spine at 1.5T using fast-spin echo and 3D-multispectral MRI.

PURPOSE: To evaluate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) artifacts near metallic spinal instrumentation using both conventional metal artifact reduction sequences (MARS) and 3D multispectral imaging sequences (3D-MSI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Both MARS and 3D-MSI images were acquired in 10 subjects with titanium spinal hardware on a 1.5T GE 450W scanner. Clinical computed tomography (CT) images were used to measure the volume of the implant using seed-based region growing. Using 30-40 landmarks, the MARS and 3D-MSI images were coregistered to the CT images. Three independent users manually segmented the artifact volume from both MR sequences. For five L-spine subjects, one user independently segmented the nerve root in both MARS and 3D-MSI images. RESULTS: For all 10 subjects, the measured artifact volume for the 3D-MSI images closely matched that of the CT implant volume (absolute error: 4.3 ± 2.0 cm3 ). The MARS artifact volume was ∼8-fold higher than that of the 3D-MSI images (30.7 ± 20.2, P = 0.002). The average nerve root volume for the MARS images was 24 ± 7.3% lower than the 3D-MSI images (P = 0.06). CONCLUSION: Compared to 3D-MSI images, the higher-resolution MARS images may help study features farther away from the implant surface. However, the MARS images retained substantial artifacts in the slice-dimension that result in a larger artifact volume. These artifacts have the potential to obscure physiologically relevant features, and can be mitigated with 3D-MSI sequences. Hence, MR study protocols may benefit with the inclusion both MARS and 3D-MSI sequences to accurately study pathology near the spine. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2017;45:51-58.

External calibration of the spectral coverage for three-dimensional multispectral MRI.

PURPOSE: By combining images created at distinct frequency offsets from the Larmor frequency, three-dimensional (3D) multispectral imaging (3D-MSI) sequences help overcome the large spatial frequency dispersion caused by metal implants. This frequency dispersion, however, varies with the implant size, orientation, and composition. Using a MAVRIC 3D-MSI acquisition, we sought to prospectively calibrate the spectral coverage needed for 3D-MSI scans. This calibration should offer a significant improvement to image quality, and reduce the scan time. METHODS: The 24 spectral bins from the calibration scan were used to generate a map of frequency offsets around the implant. The magnitude image was used to remove any outliers in the associated frequency offset map, and this processed map was used to determine the cutoff frequency offset and, hence, number of spectral bins. This approach was tested in 13 subjects, by retrospectively reconstructing MAVRIC-SL images with fewer spectral bins. Subsequently, the spectral coverage for MAVRIC-SL images was prospectively calibrated in six subjects, and based on the cutoff frequency offset, these images were acquired with fewer spectral bins. RESULTS: With fewer spectral bins, both retrospectively and prospectively calibrated MAVRIC-SL images adequately delineated the implant boundary. CONCLUSION: Incorporating this calibration procedure into future 3D-MSI exams will help improve image signal-to-noise ratio, reduce scan time, and significantly improve clinical workflow when imaging near orthopedic implants. Magn Reson Med 76:1494-1503, 2016. © 2015 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Flexible longitudinal magnetization contrast in spectrally overlapped 3D-MSI metal artifact reduction sequences: Technical considerations and clinical impact.

PURPOSE: It has previously been demonstrated that increased overlap of spectral bins in three-dimensional multispectral imaging techniques (3D-MSI) can aid in reducing residual artifacts near metal implants. However, increasing spectral overlap also necessitates consideration of saturation effects for species with long T1 values. Here, an interleaved spectral bin acquisition strategy is presented for overlapping 3D-MSI that allows for flexible choice of repetition times while simultaneously addressing these cross talk concerns. METHODS: A phantom imaging experiment is used to illustrate the amplified effect of cross talk on 3D-MSI acquisitions. A methodological approach to address cross talk across a variety of prescribed repetition times is then described. Using the presented principles, a clinical subject with a total hip replacement was imaged to generate T1, proton density, and short-tau inversion recovery contrasts. In addition, a fracture instrumentation case was imaged pre- and postcontrast using T1-weighted spectrally overlapped 3D-MSI. RESULTS: Phantom results demonstrate that conventional spectral interleaving approaches can generate unwanted signal characteristics in heavily overlapped 3D-MSI. Clinical images using the presented methods successfully demonstrate T1, proton density, and inversion recovery image contrasts using heavily overlapped 3D-MSI. CONCLUSIONS: Through automated management of spectral bin distributions across multiple interleaves, a variety of longitudinal magnetization contrasts can efficiently be acquired without any clinically relevant cross-talk impact using heavily overlapped 3D-MSI.

In vitro assessment of knee MRI in the presence of metal implants comparing MAVRIC-SL and conventional fast spin echo sequences at 1.5 and 3 T field strength.

PURPOSE: To assess lesion detection and artifact size reduction of a multiacquisition variable-resonance image combination, slice encoding for metal artifact correction (MAVRIC-SEMAC) hybrid sequence (MAVRIC-SL) compared to standard sequences at 1.5T and 3T in porcine knee specimens with metal hardware. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Artificial cartilage and bone lesions of defined size were created in the proximity of titanium and steel screws with 2.5 mm diameter in 12 porcine knee specimens and were imaged at 1.5T and 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with MAVRIC-SL PD and short T1 inversion recovery (STIR), standard fast spin echo (FSE) T2 PD, and STIR and fat-saturated T2 FSE sequences. Three radiologists blinded to the lesion locations assessed lesion detection rates on randomized images for each sequence using receiver operating characteristic (ROC). Artifact length and width were measured. RESULTS: Metal artifact sizes were largest in the presence of steel screws at 3T (FSE T2 FS: 28.7 cm(2) ) and 1.5T (16.03 cm(2) ). MAVRIC-SL PD and STIR reduced artifact sizes at both 3T (1.43 cm(2) ; 2.46 cm(2) ) and 1.5T (1.16 cm(2) ; 1.59 cm(2) ) compared to FS T2 FSE sequences (27.57 cm(2) ; 13.20 cm(2) ). At 3T, ROC-derived AUC values using MAVRIC-SL sequences were significantly higher compared to standard sequences (MAVRIC-PD: 0.87, versus FSE-T2 -FS: 0.73 [P = 0.025]; MAVRIC-STIR: 0.9 vs. T2 -STIR: 0.78 [P = 0.001] and vs. FSE-T2 -FS: 0.73 [P = 0.026]). Similar values were observed at 1.5T. Comparison of 3T and 1.5T showed no significant differences (MAVRIC-SL PD: P = 0.382; MAVRIC-SL STIR: P = 0.071). CONCLUSION: MAVRIC-SL sequences provided superior lesion detection and reduced metal artifact size at both 1.5T and 3T compared to conventionally used FSE sequences. No significant disadvantage was found comparing MAVRIC-SL at 3T and 1.5T, although metal artifacts at 3T were larger. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2015;41:1291-1299. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Metal artefact suppression at 3 T MRI: comparison of MAVRIC-SL with conventional fast spin echo sequences in patients with Hip joint arthroplasty.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to evaluate the clinical feasibility and diagnostic value of a new MRI metal artefact reduction pulse sequence called MAVRIC-SL in a 3 T MRI environment. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Two MAVRIC-SL sequences obtained in 61 patients with symptomatic total hip replacement were compared with standard FSE-STIR sequences optimized for imaging around metal. Artefact size was measured on the slice of greatest extent. Image quality, fat saturation, image distortion, visibility of anatomical structures, and detectability of joint abnormalities were visually assessed and graded on qualitative scales. Differences between MAVRIC-SL and FSE sequences were tested with the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. RESULTS: MAVRIC-SL sequences at 3 T showed significantly smaller metal artefacts compared to FSE-STIR sequences (p < 0.0001). The general image quality of MAVRIC-SL sequences was reduced with regard to spatial resolution, noise and contrast (p = 0.001), and fat saturation (p < 0.0001). The reduction of artefact size and image distortion significantly improved visualization of joint anatomy (p < 0.0001) and diagnostic confidence regarding implant-associated abnormalities (p = 0.0075 to <0.0001). CONCLUSION: Although the image quality of MAVRIC-SL sequences is limited at 3 T, its clinical application is feasible and provides important additional diagnostic information for the workup of patients with symptomatic hip replacement through substantially reduced metal artefacts. KEY POINTS: • Metal artefacts compromise imaging of total hip replacement with MRI. • Metal artefacts are aggravated with 3 Tesla MRI. • MAVRIC-SL is a technique to suppress metal artefacts. • MAVRIC-SL effectively reduces metal artefacts at 3 Tesla and improves diagnostic quality.