Phase-sensitive fat suppression steady-state free procession sequence with phase correction

Robust and fast fat suppression is a challenge in balanced steady-state free precession （SSFP） magnetic resonance imaging. Although single-acquisition phase-sensitive SSFP can provide fat-suppressed images in short scan time, phase errors, especially spatially-dependent phase shift, caused by a variety of factors may result in misplacement of fat and water voxels. In this paper, a novel phase correction algorithm was used to calibrate those phase errors during image reconstruction. This algorithm corrects phase by region growing, employing both the magnitude and the phase information of image pixels. Phantom and in vivo imagings were performed to validate the technique. As a result, excellent fat-suppressed images were acquired by using single-acquisition phase-sensitive SSFP with phase correction.     

Fat-water selective excitation in balanced steady-state free precession using short spatial-spectral RF pulses

Fat suppression is important but challenging in balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP) acquisitions, for a number of clinical applications. In the present work, the practicality of performing fat-water selective excitations using spatial-spectral (SPSP) RF pulses in bSSFP sequence is examined. With careful pulse design, the overall duration of these SPSP pulses was kept short to minimize detrimental effects on TR, scan time and banding artifact content. Fat-water selective excitation using SPSP pulses was demonstrated in both phantom and human bSSFP imaging at 3T, and compared to results obtained using a two-point Dixon method. The sequence with SPSP pulses performed better than the two-point Dixon method, in terms of scan time and suppression performance. Overall, it is concluded here that SPSP RF pulses do represent a viable option for fat-suppressed bSSFP imaging.     

Improved cerebrospinal fluid flow measurements using phase contrast balanced steady-state free precession

We present a demonstration of phase contrast balanced steady-state free precession (PC-bSSFP) for measuring cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow in the brain and spine, and a comparison of measurements obtained with this technique to conventional phase contrast using incoherent gradient echoes (PC-GRE). With PC-GRE sequences, CSF images suffer from low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), due to short repetition times required for adequate temporal resolution, and the long relaxation time of CSF. Furthermore, CSF flow is often nonlaminar, causing phase dispersion and signal loss in PC-GRE images. It is hypothesized that PC-bSSFP can improve CSF flow measurements with its high SNR and insensitivity to turbulent flow effects. CSF images acquired from the two techniques were compared in 13 healthy volunteers. Three measures were used to objectively evaluate the PC-bSSFP sequence: the CSF flow percentage, defined as the percentage of the total CSF region exhibiting pulsatile flow, net stroke volume and SNR. Images acquired with PC-bSSFP demonstrated pulsatile CSF flow in 35.8% (P<.005), 11.2% (P<.05) and 27.8% (P<.0005) more pixels than PC-GRE in the prepontine cistern, anterior and posterior cervical subarachnoid space (SAS), respectively. Likewise, measurements of stroke volume in these regions increased by 61.6% (P<.05), 16.8% (P<.001) and 48.3% (P<.0001), respectively. Similar comparisons in the aqueduct showed no statistical difference in stroke volumes between the two techniques (P=.5). The average gain in SNR was 3.3+/-1.7 (P<.001) in the prepontine cistern, 5.0+/-0.2 (P<.01) at the cervical level and 2.0+/-0.4 (P<.001) in the aqueduct in PC-bSSFP magnitude images over PC-GRE images. In addition to the obvious advantage of increased SNR, these results indicate that PC-bSSFP provides more complete measurements of CSF flow data than PC-GRE. PC-bSSFP can be used as a reliable technique for CSF flow quantification for the characterization of normal and altered intracranial CSF flow patterns.     

畸变波前相位校正效果分析

以随机相位屏构造波前畸变相位,运用高通滤波的方法模拟变形镜对光束波前畸变相位的校正作用,模拟分析了畸变波前的相位校正效果,定量分析了校正效果与低频相位畸变和高频相位畸变之间的关系,并进一步讨论了变形镜的校正位置对校正效果的影响。研究结果表明:对于给定单元尺寸的变形镜,随着畸变波前中高频相位畸变所占比例的增大,经校正后的远场光束质量明显降低,校正效果也越来越差。此外,光学变形镜所在位置对校正效果存在明显影响,校正效果随校正位置的变化呈现出起伏变化。     

畸变波前相位校正效果分析

 以随机相位屏构造波前畸变相位,运用高通滤波的方法模拟变形镜对光束波前畸变相位的校正作用,模拟分析了畸变波前的相位校正效果,定量分析了校正效果与低频相位畸变和高频相位畸变之间的关系,并进一步讨论了变形镜的校正位置对校正效果的影响。研究结果表明:对于给定单元尺寸的变形镜,随着畸变波前中高频相位畸变所占比例的增大,经校正后的远场光束质量明显降低,校正效果也越来越差。此外,光学变形镜所在位置对校正效果存在明显影响,校正效果随校正位置的变化呈现出起伏变化。     

Quantification of superparamagnetic iron oxide using inversion recovery balanced steady-state free precession

Cellular and molecular MRI trafficking studies using superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) have greatly improved non-invasive investigations of disease progression and drug efficacy, but thus far, these studies have largely been restricted to qualitative assessment of hypo- or hyperintense areas near SPIO. In this work, SPIO quantification using inversion recovery balanced steady-state free precession (IR-bSSFP) was demonstrated at 3 T by extracting R₂ values from a monoexponential model (P. Schmitt et al., 2004). A low flip angle was shown to reduce the apparent recovery rate of the IR-bSSFP time course, thus extending the dynamic range of quantification. However, low flip angle acquisitions preclude the use of traditional methods for combining RF phase-cycled images to reduce banding artifacts arising from off-resonance due to B₀ inhomogeneity. To achieve R₂ quantification of SPIO, we present a new algorithm applicable to low flip angle IR-bSSFP acquisitions that is specifically designed to identify on-resonance acquisitions. We demonstrate in this work, using both theoretical and empirical methods, that the smallest estimated R₂ from multiple RF phase-cycled acquisitions correspond well to the on-resonance time course. Using this novel minimum R₂ algorithm, homogeneous R₂ maps and linear R₂ calibration curves were created up to 100 μg(Fe)/mL with 20° flip angles, despite substantial B₀ inhomogeneity. In addition, we have shown this technique to be feasible for pre-clinical research: the minimum R₂ algorithm was resistant to off-resonance in a single slice mouse R₂ map, whereas maximum intensity projection resulted in banding artifacts and overestimated R₂ values. With the application of recent advances in accelerated acquisitions, IR-bSSFP has the potential to quantify SPIO in vivo, thus providing important information for oncology, immunology, and regenerative medicine MRI studies.     

Balanced steady-state free precession with parallel imaging gives distortion-free fMRI with high temporal resolution

Research on the functions of the human brain requires that functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) moves towards producing images with less distortion and higher temporal and spatial resolution. This study compares passband balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP) acquisitions with and without parallel imaging (PI) to investigate whether combining PI with this pulse sequence is a viable option for functional MRI. Such a novel combination has the potential to offer the distortion-free advantages of bSSFP with the reduced acquisition time of PI. Scans were done on a Philips 3T Intera, using the installed bSSFP pulse sequence, both with and without the sensitivity encoding (SENSE) PI option. The task was a visual flashing checkerboard, and the viewing window covered the visual cortex. Sensitivity comparisons with and without PI were done using the same manually drawn region of interest for each time course of the subject, and comparing the z-score summary statistics: number of voxels with z>2.3, the mean of those voxels, their 90th percentile and their maximum value. We show that PI greatly improves the temporal resolution in bSSFP, reducing the volume acquisition time by more than half in this study to 0.67 s with 3-mm isotropic voxels. At the same time, a statistically significant increase was found for the maximum z-score using bSSFP with PI as compared to without it (P=.02). This improvement can be understood in terms of physiological noise, as demonstrated by noise measurements. This produces observed increases in the overall temporal signal to noise of the functional time series, giving greater sensitivity to functional activations with PI. This study demonstrates for the first time the possibility of combining PI with bSSFP to achieve distortion-free functional images without loss of sensitivity and with high temporal resolution.     

傅里叶变换光谱学相位校正的新方法

本文提出一种校正干涉图不对称性的新方法.采用本方法进行一次处理,就可把严重失对称的干涉图变成对称,从而可校正因相位误差而造成的复原光谱畸变.理论和实验都证明此方法比目前通用的各种相位校正方法有更好的效果.     

High-frequency phase recovery of distorted wavefront and analysis on phase correction effect

By constructing a distorted wavefront with random phase screen, the correction process of distorted wavefront has been simulated, and the correction effect of deformable mirror has been simulated and analyzed with the method of high-pass filtering. The variations of correction effect and high-frequency phase distortion have been quantitatively analyzed. The results show that the beam quality of the corrected beam degrades obviously with the increase of high-frequency phase. In addition, a new method has been presented to recover the high-frequency phase of distorted wavefront according to the given intensity distribution and low-frequency phase in near field and the intensity distribution in far field. It shows that the method is very effective to recover the high-frequency phase of distorted wavefront.     

快速响应的硅基纯相位液晶器件对动态大气湍流波前的校正能力研究

液晶相位调制器的响应时间延迟是影响液晶自适应光学系统性能的一个主要因素, 为了提高系统的响应速度, 开发了一种快速响应的向列相液晶材料, 并制成了反射式硅基液晶器件(LCOS). 分析了该LCOS的相位调制特性及其对静态畸变波前和扰动波前的校正能力. 首先, 测量了LCOS的电光响应特性, 得出其780 nm相位调制量的响应时间为2 ms. 其次, 测量了LCOS的相位调制特性, 并对相位调制进行了线性化处理. 再次, 测量了用该LCOS搭建的液晶自适应光学系统的闭环和开环3 dB带宽, 它们分别为16和18 Hz. 最后, 给出了开环液晶自适应光学系统校正大气湍流的数值模拟结果, 结果表明. 系统的Strehl比由校正前的0.025上升到了校正后的0.225. 因此, 该液晶自适应光学系统可以对Greenwood频率为30 Hz以下的大气湍流进行较良好的校正.     

Free-breathing 3-dimensional steady-state free precession coronary magnetic resonance angiography: comparison of four navigator gating techniques

This work compared the performance of four navigator gating algorithms [accept/reject (A/R), diminishing variance algorithm (DVA), phase ordering with automatic window selection (PAWS) and retrospective gating (RETRO)] in suppressing respiratory motion artifacts in free-breathing 3D balanced steady-state free precession coronary MRA. In 10 volunteers, the right coronary artery (RCA) or the left anterior descending artery (LAD) was imaged (both if time permitted) at 1.5 T with the four gating techniques in random order. Vessel signal, vessel contrast and motion suppression were scored by the consensus of two blinded readers. In 15 imaged vessels (nine RCA and six LAD), PAWS provided significantly better image quality than A/R (P<.05), DVA (P=.02) and RETRO (P=.002). While the quality difference between A/R and DVA was not statistically significant, both algorithms yielded significantly better image quality than RETRO. PAWS and DVA were the most efficient algorithms, providing an approximately 20% and 40% relative increase in average navigator efficiency compared to A/R and RETRO, respectively.     

The influence of high-frequency phase distortion on the phase correction effect in atmospheric turbulence

By using the method of the power-spectrum inversion, the turbulence phase screen has been built up, and the propagation characteristics of high-frequency phase of laser beam in atmospheric turbulence have been analyzed; in addition, the phase correction effect of laser beams by using the adaptive deformable mirror has been simulated, and its affecting factors in turbulence have also been analyzed quantitatively. The results show that the phase correction effect of laser beams in turbulence is mostly determined by the percent of high-frequency phase in distorted wavefront. With the increase of the intensity of atmospheric turbulence and the propagation distance in turbulence, the percent of high-frequency phase in distorted wavefront increases, resulting in the degradation of the phase correction effect.     

Linear phase correction of folded multidimensional NMR data by zero inter-filling

We describe a procedure to enable linear phase correction of extensively folded multidimensional NMR data. This involves adding zeros in between data points in the indirect dimension to increase the effective bandwidth in the associated spectral window. A standard linear phase correction can then be applied to the data and a properly phased spectrum obtained after additional shuffling of the data in many instances.     

计算电容中Fabry-Perot干涉仪测量位移的相位修正方法

计算电容是复现电学阻抗单位的基准装置, 利用计算电容值和量子霍尔电阻值可以准确计算出精细结构常数α. 计算电容的本质是通过高准确度地测量屏蔽电极的位移, 实现对电容量值的测量. 因此, 基于Fabry-Perot干涉仪的精密电极位移测量系统是计算电容装置中最为核心和关键的部分. 在Fabry-Perot干涉仪测位移过程中, 由于高斯激光束存在轴向Gouy相位, 该附加相位将会引起相邻干涉条纹对应位移的变化(大于或者小于λ/2), 导致位移的测量值与实际值存在偏差. 本文阐述了高斯激光场的传播特性, 利用高斯激光束在自由空间和透过薄透镜复振幅的变换关系, 建立了计算电容装置中Fabry-Perot干涉仪透射光束的传输模型; 通过对不同腔长的Fabry-Perot干涉仪透射光场相位的分析, 获得了高斯激光束轴向Gouy相位修正与传输距离的关系. 结果表明, 当腔长从111.3 mm移动至316.3 mm时, 在接收距离为560 mm的情况下, 高斯光束轴向Gouy 相位引起的位移修正的绝对值最小为0.7 nm, 其相对相位修正量|δL|/|ΔL| = 3.4×10^-9.     

A 3D balanced-SSFP Dixon technique with group-encoded k-space segmentation for breath-held non-contrast-enhanced MR angiography

A three-dimensional balanced steady-state free precession (b-SSFP)-Dixon technique with a novel group-encoded k-space segmentation scheme called GUINNESS (Group-encoded Ungated Inversion Nulling for Non-contrast Enhancement in the Steady State) was developed. GUINNESS was evaluated for breath-held non-contrast-enhanced MR angiography of the renal arteries on 18 subjects (6 healthy volunteers, 12 patients) at 3.0 T. The method provided high signal-to-noise and contrast renal angiograms with homogeneous fat and background suppression in short breath-holds on the order of 20 s with high spatial resolution and coverage. GUINNESS has potential as a short breath-hold alternative to conventional respiratory-gated methods, which are often suboptimal in pediatric subjects and patients with significant diaphragmatic drift/sleep apnea.     

Artifacts introduced by zero order phase correction in proton NMR spectroscopy and a method of elimination by phase filtering

In in-vivo applications of proton NMR spectroscopic imaging, an oscillatory "ringing" artifact has been observed in some of the spectra. The source of this artifact was found to be the presence of a harmonic "beating" effect in the amplitude of the water reference free induction decay (FID) which was used for zero order phase correction for B0 inhomogeneity and eddy current compensation. The source of the beats was found to be the presence of distinct populations of spins resonating at slightly different frequencies. When the common method of zero order phase correction was implemented using such an FID, the resulting phase-corrected, water-suppressed spectra displayed ringing. Examination of the unwrapped phase correction angle revealed unexpected jumps in phase at points in time corresponding to nodes in the amplitude of the FID. Low-pass filtering of the phase correction angle of the reference FID was found to smooth out these unanticipated phase jumps. When used as a reference for phase correction, the filtered phase information gave a phase-corrected, water-suppressed spectrum free from ringing.     

Wavefront correction of Ti:sapphire terawatt laser with varying precision of phase conjugation between deformable mirror and wavefront sensor

The phase conjugation between the deformable mirror and the wavefront sensor in the aberration correction of a terawatt Ti:sapphire laser is studied experimentally and theoretically in this paper. At varying values of phase-conjugation precision, we focus the corresponding beams into spots of the same size of 5.1 μm×5.3 μm with a f/4 parabola in the 32 TW/36 fs Ti:sapphire laser system. The results show that the precision of conjugation can induce an intensity modulation but does not significantly affect the wavefront correction.     

New algorithm of white-light phase shifting interferometry pursing higher repeatability by using numerical phase error correction schemes of pre-processor, main processor, and post-processor

White-light phase shifting interferometry (WLPSI) is frequently used for the precision measurement of 3D patterns in various fields. Phase error is one of the most dominant errors in WLPSI, and it is mainly generated by the scanner positioning error and mechanical vibrations. In this paper, phase error detection method by image analysis is proposed, and the numerical correction method for minimizing the phase error is also proposed. The image reconstruction method (IRM), iterative IRM (IIRM) as pre-processors, partial IRM (PIRM), least squares method (LSM) as a main processor, and surface compensation method (SCM) as a post-processor were developed for correcting phase errors. The five methods are implemented and simulated, and the pros and cons of each method are explained.Mirau type interferometry and the phase error generator using a PZT stage were used, and the measurements by WLPSI were done under various vibration conditions. The captured images were analyzed by the five correction methods, and the results were compared. Phase error was effectively minimized by the correction methods, and repeatability of 0.2 nm was obtained in the case of the specimen of 500 nm in height. Repeatability of 10 nm was obtained by conventional WLPSI algorithms for the same specimen.     

Raman phase conjugate resonator for intracavity aero-optic turbulence aberration correction

A cw degenerate phase conjugate resonator (PCR) with intracavity aero-optic turbulent flow is demonstrated using sodium vapor pumped with a low intensity cw laser. A turbulent helium jet at a high flow velocity of 250 m/s and forcing frequency of 18 kHz generated the spatio-temporal aberrations. The intracavity normalized peak-to-peak intensity fluctuations at 18 kHz measured with a pinhole-detector are ten times smaller in the corrected beam than in the aberrated beam. The threshold pump intensity for the resonator is 4.5 W/cm² in the absence of the turbulent flow. The pump frequency is tuned well within the Doppler width of the Na D₁ transition. Evidence of a degenerate (laboratory frame) double-Λ mechanism involving Zeeman sublevels is also shown.     

大气风速对大气传输光束相位特性的影响

采用功率谱反演法构建湍流相位屏,通过横向平移相位屏的方法模拟大气风速引起的湍流时间变化,进而模拟分析了包括时间进程的激光大气传输特性,从波前相位功率谱密度的角度,定量分析了大气风速引起的激光束在大气湍流中传输时的相位特性变化。在此基础上,采用影响函数模拟变形镜对畸变波前的校正作用,对激光束经大气湍流传输后的自适应校正效果进行了预估,分析了大气风速对校正效果的影响。结果表明,大气风速对边界层湍流中光束相位特性的影响很小,然而,对于自由大气湍流中的传输光束,大气风速越大,波前相位畸变程度越大,畸变波前中高频相位比例也越大;环状光束的校正效果受大气风速的影响比平顶光束更小,并且,随着环状光束阶数的增大,校正效果所受影响逐渐减小;在一定相位畸变范围内,畸变程度越大的环状光束的相位校正效果受大气风速的影响越小。