Techniques for fast stereoscopic MRI.

Stereoscopic MRI can impart 3D perception with only two image acquisitions. This economy over standard multiplanar 3D volume renderings allows faster frame rates, which are needed for real-time imaging applications. Real-time 3D perception may enhance the appreciation of complex anatomical structures, and may improve hand-eye coordination while manipulating a medical device during an image-guided interventional procedure. To this goal, a system is being developed to acquire and display stereoscopic MR images in real-time. A clinically used, fast gradient-recalled echo-train sequence has been modified to produce stereo image pairs. Features have been added for depth cueing, view sharing, and bulk signal suppression. A workstation was attached to a clinical MR scanner for fast data extraction, image reconstruction and stereoscopic image display.

Catheter-tracking FOV MR fluoroscopy.

Recent improvements in intravascular magnetic resonance imaging techniques mandate an accurate method of monitoring the introduction of MR catheter probes into the vessel of interest. For this purpose, a novel imaging protocol and a display method have been designed. First, a roadmap 3D image data set with standard pulse sequences is obtained using an external imaging coil. Subsequently, using very narrow rectangular-FOV fast-spoiled gradient recalled (SPGR), a movie of the percutaneous placement procedure of an MR catheter probe is acquired at a rate of 7.3 frames/second. In this protocol, the probe is used to transmit RF pulses and receive MR signal. A computer program was written for image unwrapping and for displaying the unwrapped movie frames on the roadmap image. In an alternative protocol, the movie frames in two projection angles were acquired in an interleaved fashion. Frames were unwrapped and combined with a 3D roadmap and displayed on a Silicon Graphics workstation equipped with stereovision goggles. Using these methods, percutaneous catheter placement in a phantom and a dog was examined. In conclusion, a new visualization technique for MR catheter placement is proposed. Combining this technique with high resolution intravascular MRI techniques may result in a very useful diagnostic tool for the evaluation of atherosclerosis and other vessel diseases.

Precision of myocardial contour estimation from tagged MR images with a "black-blood" technique.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: The authors determined whether blood presaturation of tagged magnetic resonance (MR) images affects identification of left ventricular endocardial borders. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three healthy volunteers underwent MR imaging performed with a breath-hold segmented spoiled gradient-recalled-echo sequence with tissue tagging. Two saturation pulses (in the basal and apical regions) were used to generate black-blood images. Manual segmentation of endocardial contours on black-blood and white-blood images was performed independently by five observers. RESULTS: Endocardial borders were better identified on black-blood images compared with white-blood images, especially in the early systolic phases. Interobserver variability in contour estimation was significantly higher for white-blood images (P < .001) and was twice that for corresponding black-blood images during early systole. Contour variability appeared to be affected mainly by tag-to-myocardium contrast (P = .009) and myocardium-to-chamber contrast (P = .05). CONCLUSION: Blood presaturation of tagged MR images improves reliability of contour segmentation.

Impact of semiautomated versus manual image segmentation errors on myocardial strain calculation by magnetic resonance tagging.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: Accurate image segmentation is essential for the study of mechanical properties of the myocardium by tagged magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The relative accuracy of three methods of segmentation of myocardial borders and tags and their impact on myocardial strain calculations were evaluated. METHODS: Radially tagged, spin-echo magnetic resonance (MR) images of dog hearts were segmented manually, automatically, and semiautomatically. The variability of segmentation methods was separately determined for myocardial contours and tags. Error propagation assessment for strain calculation was estimated. RESULTS: The variability of the segmentation of the contours was five times greater than that of the tags. The error propagation is nonuniform in all directions, maximal for the radial component of strain. CONCLUSION: Errors in the segmentation of myocardial contours are significantly greater than those of the tags. Strain calculations should be based solely on segmentation of MR tags to avoid significant errors, particularly in radial strain estimates.

Tag and contour detection in tagged MR images of the left ventricle.

Tracking magnetic resonance tags in myocardial tissue promises to be an effective tool for the assessment of myocardial motion. The authors describe a hierarchy of image processing steps which rapidly detects both the contours of the myocardial boundaries of the left ventricle and the tags within the myocardium. The method works on both short axis and long axis images containing radial and parallel tag patterns, respectively. Left ventricular boundaries are detected by first removing the tags using morphological closing and then selecting candidate edge points. The best inner and outer boundaries are found using a dynamic program that minimizes a nonlinear combination of several local cost functions. Tags are tracked by matching a template of their expected profile using a least squares estimate. Since blood pooling, contiguous and adjacent tissue, and motion artifacts sometimes cause detection errors, a graphical user interface was developed to allow user correction of anomalous points. The authors present results on several tagged images of a human. A fully automated run generally finds the endocardial boundary and the tag lines extremely well, requiring very little manual correction. The epicardial boundary sometimes requires more intervention to obtain an acceptable result. These methods are currently being used in the analysis of cardiac strain and as a basis for the analysis of alternate tag geometries.

Comparison of methods for the determination of vanadium in sea-water.

Procedures for the determination of vanadium in sea-water have been independently developed at two laboratories. The separation and concentration steps were distinctly different and quantification was by neutron activation or atomic absorption. Both methods provide a reliable measurement of vanadium concentration at natural levels in sea-water.