• Tao Zhang, Shilpy Chowdhury, Michael Lustig, Richard A Barth, Marcus T Alley, Thomas Grafendorfer, Paul D Calderon, Fraser J L Robb, John M Pauly, and Shreyas S Vasanawala.
• Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
• J Magn Reson Imaging. 2014 Jul 1; 40 (1): 13-25.

PurposeTo deploy clinically, a combined parallel imaging compressed sensing method with coil compression that achieves a rapid image reconstruction, and assess its clinical performance in contrast-enhanced abdominal pediatric MRI.Materials And MethodsWith Institutional Review Board approval and informed patient consent/assent, 29 consecutive pediatric patients were recruited. Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI was acquired on a 3 Tesla scanner using a dedicated 32-channel pediatric coil and a three-dimensional SPGR sequence, with pseudo-random undersampling at a high acceleration (R = 7.2). Undersampled data were reconstructed with three methods: a traditional parallel imaging method and a combined parallel imaging compressed sensing method with and without coil compression. The three sets of images were evaluated independently and blindly by two radiologists at one siting, for overall image quality and delineation of anatomical structures. Wilcoxon tests were performed to test the hypothesis that there was no significant difference in the evaluations, and interobserver agreement was analyzed.ResultsFast reconstruction with coil compression did not deteriorate image quality. The mean score of structural delineation of the fast reconstruction was 4.1 on a 5-point scale, significantly better (P < 0.05) than traditional parallel imaging (mean score 3.1). Fair to substantial interobserver agreement was reached in structural delineation assessment.ConclusionA fast combined parallel imaging compressed sensing method is feasible in a pediatric clinical setting. Preliminary results suggest it may improve structural delineation over parallel imaging.© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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