Magnetic resonance image synthesis from analytic solutions of spin-echo and radio frequency-spoiled gradient-echo images

Abstract

Rationale and objectives: To synthesize magnetic resonance images (MRI) in real-time using a minimal data set obtained with routine clinical protocols and stored in a picture archiving and communication system (PACS) database.

Methods: Analytic solutions for T1 and T2 were obtained from a double and a single spin-echo set, with routine parameters. Analytic solutions from radio frequency-spoiled gradient-echo images, with TRs as low as 33 mseconds, also were used to synthesize gradient-echo images.

Results: Phantom studies showed that the errors in the synthesized images were significantly smaller than the errors in the T1- and T2-calculated images and similar to the source images. The gradient-echo images resulted in significant scan time savings.

Conclusion: MRI synthesis from analytic solutions of T1, T2, and rho saves computational time and yields accurate values for the intrinsic parameters while allowing the use of routine clinical protocols. The availability of clinical images in the PACS database and the ability to synthesize images in real-time has allowed the development of a practical interactive teaching module.