Authors:
H. Momo Jeufack, L. Vidarsson, C. Piron, D. B Plewes; Toronto, ON/CA
DOI:
10.1594/ecr2010/C-3263
Purpose
In recent years, parallel imaging has revolutionized breast MRI. Faster scanning has allowed for more accurate evaluation of contrast kinetics in the breast. However, even faster acquisition times are needed in order to quantitatively assess tissue perfusion and permeability in DCE (dynamic contrast-enhanced) MRI [1, 2]. Parallel imaging factors higher than 3 are rarely used in clinical practice, while higher factors would allow for increased acquisition speed. Improved coil technology and higher magnetic field strengths help overcome the SNR penalty of higher acceleration factors. The goal of this work is to quantitatively assess the parallel imaging (PI) capability of a 16 channel breast coil at 3T.