Non-contrast-enhanced hepatic MR angiography: do two-dimensional parallel imaging and short tau inversion recovery methods shorten acquisition time without image quality deterioration?

Objective: To study whether shortening the acquisition time for selective hepatic artery visualization is feasible without image quality deterioration by adopting two-dimensional (2D) parallel imaging (PI) and short tau inversion recovery (STIR) methods.

Materials and methods: Twenty-four healthy volunteers were enrolled. 3D true steady-state free-precession imaging with a time spatial labeling inversion pulse was conducted using 1D or 2D-PI and fat suppression by chemical shift selective (CHESS) or STIR methods. Three groups of different scan conditions were assigned and compared: group A (1D-PI factor 2 and CHESS), group B (2D-PI factor 2×2 and CHESS), and group C (2D-PI factor 2×2 and STIR). The artery-to-liver contrast was quantified, and the quality of artery visualization and overall image quality were scored.

Results: The mean scan time was 9.5±1.0 min (mean±standard deviation), 5.9±0.8 min, and 5.8±0.5 min in groups A, B, and C, respectively, and was significantly shorter in groups B and C than in group A (P<0.01). The artery-to-liver contrast was significantly better in group C than in groups A and B (P<0.01). The scores for artery visualization and overall image quality were worse in group B than in groups A and C. The differences were statistically significant (P<0.05) regarding the arterial branches of segments 4 and 8. Between group A and group C, which had similar scores, there were no statistically significant differences.

Conclusion: Shortening the acquisition time for selective hepatic artery visualization was feasible without deterioration of the image quality by the combination of 2D-PI and STIR methods. It will facilitate using non-contrast-enhanced MRA in clinical practice.