阅读说明：本技术 一种基于磁共振指纹成像的快速定量T1ρ的方法 (Method for quickly quantifying T1rho based on magnetic resonance fingerprint imaging ) 是由 王前锋 王鹤 戴飞 于 2020-05-13 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明属于磁共振成像技术领域,具体为基于磁共振指纹成像的快速定量T1ρ的方法。本发明方法包括在传统MRF序列前增加spin-lock准备脉冲,通过合理建模,将信号的T1ρ演化与信号的T1、T2演化融合一起,使每个时间点采集的信号都包含T1、T2和T1ρ的成分。设计伪随机变化的序列参数TSL、FA、TR和TE,通过Bloch方程中磁化矢量的演化,建立不同弛豫时间值组合的字典,将实际采集到的图像序列与字典匹配,从而定量出T1ρ、T1和T2值。本发明定量T1ρ的方法与传统指数拟合的方法相比,可以大幅的缩短扫描时间,预期在T1ρ成像中具有较大的应用价值。(The invention belongs to the technical field of magnetic resonance imaging, and particularly relates to a method for quickly quantifying T1rho based on magnetic resonance fingerprint imaging. The method comprises the steps of adding spin-lock preparation pulses before a traditional MRF sequence, and fusing the T1rho evolution of the signals with the T1 and T2 evolution of the signals through reasonable modeling, so that the signals acquired at each time point all contain components of T1, T2 and T1 rho. Designing sequence parameters TSL, FA, TR and TE which change pseudo-randomly, establishing dictionaries of different relaxation time value combinations through evolution of magnetization vectors in a Bloch equation, and matching actually acquired image sequences with the dictionaries so as to quantify T1rho, T1 and T2 values. Compared with the traditional exponential fitting method, the method for quantifying the T1rho can greatly shorten the scanning time, and is expected to have greater application value in T1rho imaging.)

1. A method for rapidly quantifying T1rho based on magnetic resonance fingerprint imaging is characterized in that T1rho evolution of a signal is fused with T1 and T2 evolution of the signal, so that the signal acquired at each time point contains components of T1, T2 and T1 rho; designing sequence parameters TSL, FA, TR and TE which change pseudo-randomly, establishing dictionaries of different relaxation time value combinations through evolution of magnetization vectors in a Bloch equation, matching actually acquired image sequences with the dictionaries, thereby quantifying a T1rho value and simultaneously obtaining T1 and T2 values; wherein T1 denotes the longitudinal relaxation time, T2 denotes the transverse relaxation time, and T1 ρ denotes the spin-lattice relaxation time; TSL is spin-lock time, FA is flip angle, TR is repetition time, and TE is echo time.

2. The method for rapidly quantifying the T1rho based on the magnetic resonance fingerprint imaging according to claim 1, characterized by comprising the following specific steps:

(1) spin-lock preparation part: adding spin-lock preparation pulses before a traditional magnetic resonance fingerprint imaging sequence;

(2) after the spin-lock preparation part is finished, using a gradient dephasing residual magnetization vector;

(3) data acquisition: acquiring image data by using a plane echo based EPI acquisition mode; or acquiring image data in an EPI acquisition mode after 180-degree refocusing pulses are applied; or acquiring image data by using an acquisition mode based on a magnetic resonance fingerprint imaging technology, such as acquiring image data by adopting a flip recovery FISP sequence, a fast spin echo sequence, a balanced steady free precession sequence and a spiral track acquisition mode;

(4) pseudo-randomly designing sequence parameters, wherein each repetition is different combinations of TSL, FA, TR and TE, and signals evolve according to the following formula:

finally, matching and recognizing the acquired image sequence with a dictionary, and simultaneously quantifying T1rho, T1 and T2, wherein S is₀Is the signal strength at TSL of 0.

3. The method for fast quantifying T1 p according to claim 2, wherein the spin-lock preparation part in step (1) is a hard pulse along a single direction, or a combination of two hard pulses with different directions, or a non-selective 180-degree refocusing pulse added between two or more spin-lock pulses.

4. The method for fast quantification of T1 p based on magnetic resonance fingerprinting of claim 2, wherein the step (2) of using the gradient dephasing remanent magnetization vector is to apply a gradient in at least one of the X, Y and Z axes after the spin-lock preparation part is finished to dephasing the influence of the remanent magnetization vector in the XY plane on the subsequent imaging.

5. The method for fast quantifying T1 p based on magnetic resonance fingerprinting of claim 2, wherein the sequence parameters designed pseudo-randomly in step (4) are combined with the evolution of T1 p signal, and the TSL parameters are designed pseudo-randomly, so that each acquired signal is a combination of different TSL, FA, TR and TE, except that the sequence parameters FA, TR and TE are pseudo-randomly changed every time the conventional magnetic resonance fingerprinting sequence is repeated.

6. The method for rapid quantification of T1 p based on magnetic resonance fingerprint imaging according to claim 2, wherein the image sequence is matched with a dictionary in step (4), the matching is performed by using a least square method, or the matching is performed by comparing the correlation between the actually acquired image sequence and the dictionary, or the matching is performed by using a dot product method.

Technical Field

The invention belongs to the technical field of magnetic resonance imaging, and particularly relates to a method for quickly quantifying T1rho based on magnetic resonance fingerprint imaging.

Background

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive medical imaging technique with high spatial resolution, high tissue contrast, and capability of imaging in any direction. Magnetic resonance imaging has abundant tissue contrast, is a clinically important diagnostic tool, and is widely applied to the fields of clinical diagnosis, neuroscience, mental diseases and the like.

Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting (MRF) was originally proposed by Ma et al (Ma D, guillani V, seiberich N, et al, Magnetic resonance imaging fingerprinting, nature, 2013;495(7440): 187) 192), MRF used pseudo-randomly varying sequence parameters for data acquisition, a dictionary was created by Bloch equation simulation signal evolution, which contains a large number of different parameter combinations (e.g., T1, T2), the actual Magnetic resonance signals acquired were matched with the dictionary using pattern recognition techniques to find the best matching curves, and thus T1, T2 values of the tissue were quantified (T1 refers to longitudinal relaxation time, T2 refers to transverse relaxation time). Besides the rapid and accurate quantification of T1 and T2, MRF can also be applied to the water-fat separation and the quantification of the creatine kinase reaction rate in a spectrum, and the rapid quantification of a diffusion coefficient ADC, and the MRF becomes a popular field for the research and development of a magnetic resonance rapid quantification technology.

T1 ρ (or T1 rho) refers to the spin-lattice relaxation time in the rotating coordinate system (spin-lattice relaxation time in the rotating frame), reflecting the low frequency motion information of large molecules. In T1 ρ imaging, the spin-lock Frequency (FSL) is typically from several hundred hertz to several thousand hertz, so T1 ρ is very sensitive to the low-frequency motion of macromolecules, and T1 ρ can reflect the interaction information between macromolecules and hydrogen protons during the slow motion of macromolecules. The applications of T1 ρ are mainly T1 ρ weighted imaging, T1 ρ mapping and T1 ρ distribution (T1 ρ dispersion). T1rho weighted imaging (or T1rho mapping) has soft tissue contrast different from traditional T1 and T2 weighted imaging, and is widely applied to research on diseases such as liver fibrosis stage, articular cartilage degeneration, Alzheimer disease and the like.

The current T1 ρ is generally calculated by scanning the Time (TSL) of the different spin-lock pulses, by the function:

fitting ofObtained by a process of formula (I) wherein S₀The signal intensity is when TSL is 0, and C is a constant. The exponential fitting method is time-consuming, is easily affected by motion artifacts and the like, and is not favorable for the application of the T1rho imaging method in the fields of clinic and the like.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to solve the problem of long imaging time of T1rho and provides a method for quickly quantifying T1rho based on magnetic resonance fingerprint imaging.

In order to achieve the purpose, the invention adopts the following technical scheme:

through reasonable modeling, the T1rho evolution of the signal is fused with the T1 and the T2 evolution of the signal, so that the signal acquired at each time point contains components of T1, T2 and T1 rho. Designing pseudo-randomly changed sequence parameters (spin locking time TSL, flip angle FA, repetition time TR and echo time TE), establishing dictionaries of different relaxation time value combinations through evolution of magnetization vectors in a Bloch equation, and matching actually acquired image sequences with the dictionaries so as to quantify T1rho, T1 and T2 values. The method comprises the following specific steps:

(1) spin-lock preparation part: adding spin-lock preparation pulses before a traditional magnetic resonance fingerprint imaging sequence;

(2) after the spin-lock preparation part is finished, using a gradient dephasing residual magnetization vector;

(3) data acquisition: acquiring image data using an Echo Planar (EPI) based acquisition modality; or acquiring image data in an EPI (extended edge imaging) acquisition mode after 180-degree refocusing pulse is applied; or acquiring image data based on the acquisition mode of the magnetic resonance fingerprint imaging technology, wherein the acquisition mode comprises acquiring image data of an overturning recovery FISP sequence, a fast spin echo sequence (FSE or RARE), a balanced steady free precession sequence (bSSFP), a Spiral trajectory (Spiral) and the like;

(4) pseudo-randomly designing sequence parameters, wherein each repetition is different combinations of TSL, FA, TR and TE, and signals evolve according to the following formula:

finally, matching and recognizing the acquired image sequence with a dictionary, and simultaneously quantifying T1rho, T1 and T2. In the formula S₀Is the signal strength at TSL of 0.

In the step (1), the spin-lock preparation part may be hard pulses along a single direction, may be a combination of hard pulses with two different directions in order to reduce errors and artifacts caused by inhomogeneity of the radio frequency field (B1), and may be a non-selective 180-degree refocusing pulse added between two or more spin-lock pulses in order to reduce the influence of inhomogeneity of the static magnetic field (B0).

In the step (2), gradient dephasing residual magnetization vectors are used, namely, after the spin-lock preparation part is finished, gradients are applied to the X axis, the Y axis and the Z axis (or one or two axes), so that the residual magnetization vectors in the dephasing XY plane have influence on subsequent imaging.

In the step (3), a single-shot planar echo sequence (EPI) is used for data acquisition, in order to reduce the influence of field nonuniformity, the EPI is acquired after a 180-degree refocusing pulse is applied, and acquisition modes based on the magnetic resonance fingerprint imaging technology may further include a flip recovery FISP sequence, a fast spin echo sequence (FSE or RARE), a balanced steady-state free precession sequence (bSSFP), a Spiral trajectory acquisition mode (Spiral), and the like, wherein the advantage of fast Spiral acquisition speed is most commonly used.

In the step (4), the sequence parameters are designed in a pseudo-random manner, except that the sequence parameters (FA, TR and TE) are changed in a pseudo-random manner every time in the conventional magnetic resonance fingerprint imaging sequence, T1rho signal evolution is fused, and TSL parameters are designed in a pseudo-random manner, so that signals acquired every time are combinations of different TSL, FA, TR and TE.

Considering that the traditional magnetic resonance fingerprint imaging method can only change parts of FA, TR and TE, the invention can also fix parts of parameters of FA, TR and TE appropriately, and the number of the pseudorandom design parameters can be determined according to the signal-to-noise ratio of signals and the matching effect with a dictionary.

Besides pseudo-randomly changing sequence parameters (FA, TR and TE) every time a traditional magnetic resonance fingerprint imaging sequence is repeated, T1rho signal evolution is fused, and TSL parameters are designed pseudo-randomly, so that signals acquired every time are combinations of different TSLs, FAs, TRs and TEs.

In the step (4), the image sequence is matched with a dictionary by using a least square method; matching can also be performed by comparing the correlation between the actually acquired image sequence and the dictionary; matching can also be performed using a dot product method.

Compared with the traditional exponential fitting method, the method for quantifying the T1rho can greatly shorten the scanning time, and can quantify T1 and T2 values while quantifying the T1rho value quickly. Therefore, the invention has greater application value in T1rho imaging.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a sequence timing diagram of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is T1 map quantified using a conventional saturation recovery method, T2 map quantified using a CPMG sequence, and T1 ρ map quantified by exponential fitting for T1 ρ imaging acquired at RARE.

FIG. 4 is T1, T2, and T1 ρ map quantified using the present invention.

Detailed Description

The method of the invention is used for fast quantifying 7 water models with different T1, T2 and T1rho as an example to illustrate the specific implementation mode of the invention.

Sequence design: the sequence implementation of the invention is realized on a Bruk 11.7T magnetic resonance system, the software version is ParaVision 6.01, and a receiving coil adopts a 4-channel receiving and transmitting integrated cylindrical coil. Each firing of the sequence employs a different TSL, FA, TR and TE, where TSL ranges from 0ms to 50ms, FA ranges from 5 degrees to 80 degrees, TE ranges from 11ms to 21ms, and TR varies in Perlin noise mode, ranging from 25ms to 200 ms.

The traditional fingerprint imaging method can obtain a relatively accurate value when the excitation times are generally set to be 1000 times, and the method also adopts the excitation times of 1000 times to scan 7 water models.

T1 ρ map measurements were performed on 7 water models using a conventional T1 ρ imaging sequence acquired based on RARE, the sequence being fitted using 11 different TSL values.

T1 map measurements were made using saturation recovery for 7 water modes and the sequence was fitted using 12 different TR values.

T2 map measurements were made for 7 water modes using the CPMG sequence, and 20 different echo time signals were acquired for fitting.

And establishing a dictionary according to sequence parameters TSL, FA, TR and TE of the pseudo-random design and a Bloch equation, wherein the dictionary establishment and the dictionary matching are realized by MATLAB (2018 a) software of MathWork company.

The 1000 image sequences collected by the method of the invention at different time points are matched with the established dictionary, and the T1, T2 and T1rho map of 7 water models are quantified by the matching method by using a least square method.

The agreement of the results of the present technique with those of the conventional fitting method was evaluated using SPSS software (version 16.0) to calculate an intra-group correlation coefficient (ICC) (Two-way mixed model was selected). The ICC measured by the two methods is respectively as follows: t1 value ICC =0.842 (p = 0.004), T2 value ICC =0.834 (p = 0.005), and T1 ρ value ICC =0.919 (p = 0.001), indicating that the results obtained by the present invention are in good agreement with the results obtained by the conventional fitting method. The invention can simultaneously quantify the values of T1, T2 and T1rho by using short data acquisition time, greatly reduces the scanning time and has good promotion effect on the wide application of T1rho imaging.