Fast Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer (CEST) Imaging with Variably accelerated Sensitivity Encoding (vSENSE)
CEST imaging has numerous applications, but its widespread clinical use is hampered by relatively long acquisition times. Here, a novel variably accelerated sensitivity encoding (vSENSE) method is proposed that provides faster CEST acquisitions than conventional SENSE. The vSENSE approach undersamples k space variably for images acquired at different saturation frequencies to maximize acquisition speed. vSENSE was validated in a phantom and in 8 patients with brain tumors studied at 3T. The vSENSE method provided a 4 fold acceleration, compared to conventional SENSE which permitted only a 2 fold acceleration, with both compared to a full k space reconstruction.
Proceedings of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine Scientific Meeting and Exhibition. International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. Scientific Meeting and Exhibition