Highly accelerated dynamic contrast enhanced imaging

Purpose Dynamic contrast-enhanced imaging provides unique physiological information, notably the endothelial permeability (K^trans), and may improve the diagnosis and management of multiple pathologies. Current acquisition methods provide limited spatial-temporal resolution and field-of-view, often preventing characterization of the entire pathology and precluding measurement of the arterial input function. We present a method for highly accelerated dynamic imaging and demonstrate its utility for dynamic contrast-enhanced modeling. Methods We propose a novel Poisson ellipsoid sampling scheme and enforce multiple spatial and temporal l₁-norm constraints during image reconstruction. Retrospective and prospective analyses were performed to validate the approach. Results Retrospectively, no mean bias or diverging trend was observed as the acceleration rate was increased from 3× to 18×; less than 10% error was measured in K^trans at any individual rates in this range. Prospectively accelerated images at a rate of 36× enabled full brain coverage with 0.94 × 0.94 × 1.9 mm³ spatial and 4.1 s temporal resolutions. Images showed no visible degradation and provided accurate K^trans values when compared to a clinical population. Conclusion Highly accelerated dynamic MRI using compressed sensing and parallel imaging provides accurate permeability modeling and enables full brain, high resolution acquisitions.