Magnetic Resonance Imaging at field strengths up to 3 T, has become a default diagnostic modality for a variety of disorders and injuries, due to multiple reasons ranging from its non-invasive nature to the possibility of obtaining high resolution images of internal organs and soft tissues. Despite tremendous advances, MR imaging of certain anatomical regions and applications present specific challenges to be overcome. One such application is MR Musculo-Skeletal Imaging. This work addresses a few difficult areas within MSK imaging from the hardware perspective, with coil solutions for dynamic imaging of knee and high field imaging of hand. Starting with a brief introduction to MR physics, different types of RF coils are introduced in chapter 1, followed by sections on design of birdcage coils, phased arrays and their characterization in chapter 2. Measurements, calculations and simulations, done during the course of this work, have been added to this chapter to give a quantitative feel of the concepts explained. Chapter 3 deals with the construction of a phased array receiver for dynamic imaging of knee of a large animal model, i.e. minipig, at 1.5 T. Starting with details on the various aspects of an application that need to be considered when an MR RF array is designed, the chapter details the complex geometry of the region of interest in a minipig and reasons that necessitate a high density array. The sizes of the individual elements that constitute the array have been arrived at by studying the ratio of unloaded to loaded Q factors and choosing a size that provides the best ratio but still maintains a uniform SNR throughout the movement of the knee. To have a minimum weight and to allow mechanical movement of the knee, the Preamplifiers were located in a separate box. A movement device was constructed to achieve adjustable periodic movement of the knee of the anesthetized animal. The constructed array has been characterized for its SNR and compared with an existing product coil to show the improvement. The movement device was also characterized for its reproducibility. High resolution static images with anatomical details marked have been presented. The 1/g maps show the accelerations possible with the array. Snapshots of obtained dynamic images trace the cruciate ligaments through a cycle of movement of the animal's knee. The hardware combination of a high density phased array and a movement device designed for a minipig's knee was used as a 'reference' and extended in chapter 4 for a human knee. In principle the challenges are similar for dynamic imaging of a human knee with regards to optimization of the elements, the associated electronics and the construction of the movement device. The size of the elements were optimized considering the field penetration / sensitivity required for the internal tissues. They were distributed around the curvature of the knee keeping in mind the acceleration required for dynamic imaging and the direction of the movement. The constructed movement device allows a periodic motion of the lower half of the leg, with the knee placed within the coil, enabling visualization of the tissues inside, while the leg is in motion. Imaging has been performed using dynamic interleaved acquisition sequence where higher effective TR and flip angles are achieved due to a combination of interleaving and segmentation of the sequence. The movement device has been characterized for its reproducibility while the SNR distribution of the constructed RF array has been compared with that of a commercially available standard 8 channel array. The results show the improvement in SNR and acceleration with the constructed geometry. High resolution static images, dynamic snapshots and the 3D segmentation of the obtained images prove the usefulness of the complete package provided in the design, for performing dynamic imaging at a clinically relevant field strength. A simple study is performed in chapter 5 to understand the effects of changes in overlap for coil configurations with different loads and at different frequencies. The noise levels of individual channels and the correlation between them are plotted against subtle changes in overlap, at 64 and 123 MHz. SNR for every overlap setup is also measured and plotted. Results show that achieving critical overlap is crucial to obtain the best possible SNR in those coil setups where the load offered by the sample is low. Chapter 6 of the thesis work deals with coil design for high field imaging of hand and wrists at 7 T, with an aim to achieve ultra high resolution imaging. At this field strength due to the increase in dielectric effects and the resulting decrease in homogeneity, whole body transmit coils are impractical and this has led engineers to design local transmit coils, for specific anatomies. While transmit or transceive arrays are usually preferred, to mitigate SAR effects, the spatial resolution obtained is limited. It is shown that a solution to this, with regards to hand imaging, can be a single volume transmit coil, along with high density receive arrays optimized for different regions of the hand. The use of a phased array for reception provides an increased SNR / penetration under high resolution. A volume transmit coil could pose issues in homogeneity at 7 T, but the specific anatomy of hand and wrist, with comparatively less water content, limits dielectric effects to have homogeneous B_1+ profile over the hand. To this effect, a bandpass birdcage and a 12 channel receive array are designed and characterized. Images of very high spatial resolution (0.16 x 0.16 x 0.16 mm3) with internal tissues marked are presented. In vivo 1/g maps show that an acceleration of up to 3 is possible and the EM simulation results presented show the uniform field along with SAR hotspots in the hand. To reduce the stress created due to the 'superman' position of imaging, provisions in the form of a holder and a hand rest have been designed and presented. Factors that contributed to the stability of the presented design are also listed, which would help future designs of receive arrays at high field strengths. In conclusion, the coils and related hardware presented in this thesis address the following two aspects of MSK imaging: Dynamic imaging of knee and High resolution imaging of hand / wrist. The presented hardware addresses specific challenges and provides solutions. It is hoped that these designs are steps in the direction of improving the existing coils to get a better knowledge and understanding of MSK diseases such as Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis. The hardware can aid our study of ligament reconstruction and development. The high density array and transmit coil design for hand / wrist also demonstrates the benefits of the obtained SNR at 7 T while maintaining SAR within limits. This design is a contribution towards optimizing hardware at high field strength, to make it clinically acceptable and approved by regulatory bodies. / Die Magnetresonanztomographie mit Feldstärken bis zu 3 T ist zu einer Standard- Diag-nosemethode für eine Vielzahl von Erkrankungen und Verletzungen geworden. Das hat mehrere Gründe, angefangen von ihrer nicht-invasiven Natur bis hin zu ihrer Fähigkeit,hochaufgelöste Bilder von inneren Organen und Weichteilen zu erhalten. Trotz enormer Fortschritte stellt die MR-Bildgebung bestimmter anatomischer Regionen oder bei bestimmten Anwendungen und Fragestellungen eine besondere Herausforderung dar. Eine dieser Anwendungen ist die MR-Bildgebung am Muskuloskelettalen System (MSK). Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit einigen schwierigen Fragestellungen innerhalb der MSK-Bildgebung aus aus der Perspektive der Hardware-Entwicklung: mit Spulendesigns für die dynamische Bildgebung des Knies und mit MR-Bildgebung der Hand bei hohen Magentfeldern. Nach einer kurzen Einführung in die MR-Physik werden in Kapitel 1 dann verschiedene Typen von Hochfrequenz-Spulen (HF-Spulen) vorgestellt, gefolgt in Kapitel 2 mit Abhandlungen des Designs von Birdcage-Spulen, Phased Arrays und deren Charakterisierung. Außerdem enthält das Kapitel Messungen, Berechnungen und Simulationen, die im Rahmen dieser Arbeit durchgeführt wurden, um einen quantitativen Eindruck von den erläuterten Konzepten zu vermitteln. Kapitel 3 befasst sich mit dem Aufbau eines Phased-Array-Empfängers für die dynamische Bildgebung des Knies an einem großen Tiermodell (Minipig) bei 1,5 T. Es werden detailliert verschiedene Aspekte erläutert, die bei der Konstruktion eines RF-Arrays berücksichtigt werden müssen. Des Weiteren beschreibt das Kapitel die komplexe Geometrie des Zielbereichs am Knie des Minipigs und die Gründe für ein Array mitvielen Spulenelementen. ...

The dramatic improvement in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan time over the past fifteen years through gradient-based methods that sample k-space more efficiently and quickly cannot be sustained, as thresholds regarding hardware and safety limitations are already being approached. Parallel imaging methods (using multiple receiver coils to partially encode k-space) have offered some relief in the efforts and are rapidly becoming the focus of current endeavors to decrease scan time. Ideally, for some applications, phase encoding would be eliminated completely, replaced with array coil encoding instead, and the entire image formed in a single echo. The primary objective of this work was to explore that acceleration limit – to implement and investigate the methodology of single echo acquisition magnetic resonance imaging (SEA MRI). The initial evaluation of promising array coil designs is described, based on parameters determined by the ability to enable the imaging method. The analyses of field patterns, decoupling, and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) that led to the final 64-channel array coil design are presented, and the fabrication and testing of coils designed for 4.7T and 1.5T are described. A detailed description of the obtainment of the first SEA images – 64xNreadout images, acquired in a single echo – is provided with an evaluation of those images and highly accelerated images (through parallel imaging techniques) based on SNR and artifact power. Finally, the development of methodologies for various MR applications is described: applications that would particularly benefit from the speed of the imaging method, or those to which the method or the tool (array coil) lends itself. These applications include, but are not limited to, 3D imaging (phase encode in the slice select direction), resolution-enhanced imaging, large-scale (field-of-view) microscopy, and conformal surface imaging. Finally, using the primary enablement of the method – the ability to obtain complete MR images at speeds limited only by the time it takes to acquire a single echo – is presented with a discussion of extremely high frame rate imaging. The contribution to the field of medical imaging is the first implementation, characterization, and demonstration of applications for the acquisition of MR images in a single echo.

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a powerful and highly specialised imaging modality that has the inherent ability to detect and quantify changes in the bio-distribution of an intravenously administered radio-labelled tracer, through dynamic image acquisition of the system under study. By modelling the temporal distribution of the tracer, parameters of interest regarding specific biological processes can be derived. Traditionally parameter estimation is done by first reconstructing a set of dynamic images independently, followed by kinetic modelling, leading to parameters of reduced accuracy and precision. Furthermore only simple geometrical models are used during image reconstruction to model the mapping between the image space and the data space, leading to images of reduced resolution. This thesis attempts to address some of the problems associated with the current methodology, by implementing and evaluating new spatiotemporal image reconstruction strategies in oncology PET/CT imaging, with simulated, phantom and real data. More specifically this thesis is concerned with iterative reconstruction techniques, the incorporation of resolution recovery and kinetic modelling strategies within the image reconstruction process and the application of such methods in perfusion [15O]H2O imaging. This work is mainly based upon 2 whole body PET/CT scanners, the Siemens Biograph 6 B-HiRez and TruePoint TrueV, but some aspects of this work were also implemented for the High resolution research tomograph (HRRT).

La dent est un tissu vivant, confronté tout au long de la vie à de multiples agressions (caries, traumatismes...) qui peuvent entraîner la nécrose de la pulpe. La mise au point d’une «pulpe équivalente» pourrait constituer une approche thérapeutique innovante comme alternative aux traitements actuels d’endodontie. La pulpe des dents temporaires constitue un réservoir de cellules souches mésenchymateuses (SHED Stem cells from Human Exfoliated Deciduous teeth) aux potentiels de prolifération et de différenciation élevés. L’objectif global de ce travail est de reconstituer un tissu pulpaire fonctionnel en développant une pulpe équivalente (cellules pulpaires mésenchymateuses ensemencées dans une matrice 3D de collagène) pour être greffée à l’intérieur de la chambre pulpaire préalablement évidée afin de conserver la vitalité de la dent. Les objectifs spécifiques ont été : In vitro : 1) d'étudier le potentiel angiogénique des SHED comparés à des fibroblastes dermiques en conditions normoxiques et hypoxiques, 2) de déterminer la durée de pré-conditionnement hypoxique optimale pour stimuler le potentiel angiogénique des SHED, 3) de sélectionner une potentielle cytokine activant la formation de capillaires, 4) d’analyser l’effet de l’hypoxie sur l’expression des marqueurs de surfaces des SHED, et 5) de vérifier que l’hypoxie n’altérait pas le potentiel de minéralisation de ces cellules. In vivo : 1) d’évaluer, dans un modèle pré-clinique d’implantation de pulpes équivalentes en site ectopique chez la souris, l’effet du pré-conditionnement hypoxique sur le potentiel angiogénique des SHED. Ces expériences ont d’abord été conduites avec des cellules pulpaires de souris puis confirmées avec des SHED implantées dans des souris immunodéficientes, et 2) de développer des techniques d’imagerie dynamique pour suivre la néoangiogenèse dans les pulpes équivalentes implantées. Enfin, dans un objectif de transfert vers la clinique dentaire humaine, nous avons étudié l’effet d’un nouveau biomatériau à base de calcium tricalcique sur la réparation tissulaire dans un modèle de blessure pulpaire chez le rat, en comparaison aux matériaux de référence. / The tooth is a living organ, faced throughout life to multiple attacks (caries, trauma ...) which can cause necrosis of the pulp. The development of a" pulp equivalent " could be an innovative therapeutic approach as an alternative to current endodontic treatments. The pulp of deciduous teeth is a reservoir of mesenchymal stem cells (Stem cells SHED from Human Exfoliated Deciduous teeth) with a high potential of proliferation and differentiation. The overall objective of this work was to reconstitute a functional pulp tissue by developing a pulp equivalent (pulp mesenchymal cells seeded in a 3D collagen matrix) to be grafted within the previously hollowed pulp chamber to maintain tooth vitality. The specific objectives were: In vitro: 1) to study the angiogenic potential of SHED compared with dermal fibroblasts in normoxic and hypoxic conditions. 2) to determine the optimal hypoxic preconditioning period to stimulate the angiogenic potential of SHED, 3) to identify a potential cytokine activating the capillary formation, 4) to analyze the effect of hypoxia on the expression of markers surfaces SHED, and 5) to check that hypoxia did not alter the mineralization potential of these cells. In vivo: 1) to evaluate, in a pre-clinical model of pulp equivalent implantation in ectopic site in mice, the effect of either hypoxic or FGF preconditioning on the angiogenic potential of SHED. These experiments were first conducted with mouse pulp cells and further confirmed with SHED implanted in immunodeficient mice, and 2) to develop dynamic imaging techniques to monitor neoangiogenesis within pulp equivalent. Finally, in an objective of transfer to the human dental clinic, we studied the effect of a new biomaterial based on tricalcium on tissue repair in a pulp injury model in rats, compared to gold standard materials.

La dent est un tissu vivant, confronté tout au long de la vie à de multiples agressions (caries, traumatismes...) qui peuvent entraîner la nécrose de la pulpe. La mise au point d’une «pulpe équivalente» pourrait constituer une approche thérapeutique innovante comme alternative aux traitements actuels d’endodontie. La pulpe des dents temporaires constitue un réservoir de cellules souches mésenchymateuses (SHED Stem cells from Human Exfoliated Deciduous teeth) aux potentiels de prolifération et de différenciation élevés. L’objectif global de ce travail est de reconstituer un tissu pulpaire fonctionnel en développant une pulpe équivalente (cellules pulpaires mésenchymateuses ensemencées dans une matrice 3D de collagène) pour être greffée à l’intérieur de la chambre pulpaire préalablement évidée afin de conserver la vitalité de la dent. Les objectifs spécifiques ont été : In vitro : 1) d'étudier le potentiel angiogénique des SHED comparés à des fibroblastes dermiques en conditions normoxiques et hypoxiques, 2) de déterminer la durée de pré-conditionnement hypoxique optimale pour stimuler le potentiel angiogénique des SHED, 3) de sélectionner une potentielle cytokine activant la formation de capillaires, 4) d’analyser l’effet de l’hypoxie sur l’expression des marqueurs de surfaces des SHED, et 5) de vérifier que l’hypoxie n’altérait pas le potentiel de minéralisation de ces cellules. In vivo : 1) d’évaluer, dans un modèle pré-clinique d’implantation de pulpes équivalentes en site ectopique chez la souris, l’effet du pré-conditionnement hypoxique sur le potentiel angiogénique des SHED. Ces expériences ont d’abord été conduites avec des cellules pulpaires de souris puis confirmées avec des SHED implantées dans des souris immunodéficientes, et 2) de développer des techniques d’imagerie dynamique pour suivre la néoangiogenèse dans les pulpes équivalentes implantées. Enfin, dans un objectif de transfert vers la clinique dentaire humaine, nous avons étudié l’effet d’un nouveau biomatériau à base de calcium tricalcique sur la réparation tissulaire dans un modèle de blessure pulpaire chez le rat, en comparaison aux matériaux de référence. / The tooth is a living organ, faced throughout life to multiple attacks (caries, trauma ...) which can cause necrosis of the pulp. The development of a" pulp equivalent " could be an innovative therapeutic approach as an alternative to current endodontic treatments. The pulp of deciduous teeth is a reservoir of mesenchymal stem cells (Stem cells SHED from Human Exfoliated Deciduous teeth) with a high potential of proliferation and differentiation. The overall objective of this work was to reconstitute a functional pulp tissue by developing a pulp equivalent (pulp mesenchymal cells seeded in a 3D collagen matrix) to be grafted within the previously hollowed pulp chamber to maintain tooth vitality. The specific objectives were: In vitro: 1) to study the angiogenic potential of SHED compared with dermal fibroblasts in normoxic and hypoxic conditions. 2) to determine the optimal hypoxic preconditioning period to stimulate the angiogenic potential of SHED, 3) to identify a potential cytokine activating the capillary formation, 4) to analyze the effect of hypoxia on the expression of markers surfaces SHED, and 5) to check that hypoxia did not alter the mineralization potential of these cells. In vivo: 1) to evaluate, in a pre-clinical model of pulp equivalent implantation in ectopic site in mice, the effect of either hypoxic or FGF preconditioning on the angiogenic potential of SHED. These experiments were first conducted with mouse pulp cells and further confirmed with SHED implanted in immunodeficient mice, and 2) to develop dynamic imaging techniques to monitor neoangiogenesis within pulp equivalent. Finally, in an objective of transfer to the human dental clinic, we studied the effect of a new biomaterial based on tricalcium on tissue repair in a pulp injury model in rats, compared to gold standard materials.

La dent est un tissu vivant, confronté tout au long de la vie à de multiples agressions (caries, traumatismes...) qui peuvent entraîner la nécrose de la pulpe. La mise au point d’une «pulpe équivalente» pourrait constituer une approche thérapeutique innovante comme alternative aux traitements actuels d’endodontie. La pulpe des dents temporaires constitue un réservoir de cellules souches mésenchymateuses (SHED Stem cells from Human Exfoliated Deciduous teeth) aux potentiels de prolifération et de différenciation élevés. L’objectif global de ce travail est de reconstituer un tissu pulpaire fonctionnel en développant une pulpe équivalente (cellules pulpaires mésenchymateuses ensemencées dans une matrice 3D de collagène) pour être greffée à l’intérieur de la chambre pulpaire préalablement évidée afin de conserver la vitalité de la dent. Les objectifs spécifiques ont été : In vitro : 1) d'étudier le potentiel angiogénique des SHED comparés à des fibroblastes dermiques en conditions normoxiques et hypoxiques, 2) de déterminer la durée de pré-conditionnement hypoxique optimale pour stimuler le potentiel angiogénique des SHED, 3) de sélectionner une potentielle cytokine activant la formation de capillaires, 4) d’analyser l’effet de l’hypoxie sur l’expression des marqueurs de surfaces des SHED, et 5) de vérifier que l’hypoxie n’altérait pas le potentiel de minéralisation de ces cellules. In vivo : 1) d’évaluer, dans un modèle pré-clinique d’implantation de pulpes équivalentes en site ectopique chez la souris, l’effet du pré-conditionnement hypoxique sur le potentiel angiogénique des SHED. Ces expériences ont d’abord été conduites avec des cellules pulpaires de souris puis confirmées avec des SHED implantées dans des souris immunodéficientes, et 2) de développer des techniques d’imagerie dynamique pour suivre la néoangiogenèse dans les pulpes équivalentes implantées. Enfin, dans un objectif de transfert vers la clinique dentaire humaine, nous avons étudié l’effet d’un nouveau biomatériau à base de calcium tricalcique sur la réparation tissulaire dans un modèle de blessure pulpaire chez le rat, en comparaison aux matériaux de référence. / The tooth is a living organ, faced throughout life to multiple attacks (caries, trauma ...) which can cause necrosis of the pulp. The development of a" pulp equivalent " could be an innovative therapeutic approach as an alternative to current endodontic treatments. The pulp of deciduous teeth is a reservoir of mesenchymal stem cells (Stem cells SHED from Human Exfoliated Deciduous teeth) with a high potential of proliferation and differentiation. The overall objective of this work was to reconstitute a functional pulp tissue by developing a pulp equivalent (pulp mesenchymal cells seeded in a 3D collagen matrix) to be grafted within the previously hollowed pulp chamber to maintain tooth vitality. The specific objectives were: In vitro: 1) to study the angiogenic potential of SHED compared with dermal fibroblasts in normoxic and hypoxic conditions. 2) to determine the optimal hypoxic preconditioning period to stimulate the angiogenic potential of SHED, 3) to identify a potential cytokine activating the capillary formation, 4) to analyze the effect of hypoxia on the expression of markers surfaces SHED, and 5) to check that hypoxia did not alter the mineralization potential of these cells. In vivo: 1) to evaluate, in a pre-clinical model of pulp equivalent implantation in ectopic site in mice, the effect of either hypoxic or FGF preconditioning on the angiogenic potential of SHED. These experiments were first conducted with mouse pulp cells and further confirmed with SHED implanted in immunodeficient mice, and 2) to develop dynamic imaging techniques to monitor neoangiogenesis within pulp equivalent. Finally, in an objective of transfer to the human dental clinic, we studied the effect of a new biomaterial based on tricalcium on tissue repair in a pulp injury model in rats, compared to gold standard materials.

A fourth gradient channel was implemented to provide slice dependent RF coil phase compensation for arrays in dual-sided or "sandwich" configurations. The use of highly parallel arrays for single echo acquisition magnetic resonance imaging allows both highly accelerated imaging and capture of dynamic and single shot events otherwise inaccessible to MRI. When using RF coils with dimensions on the order of the voxel size, the array coil element phase patterns adversely affect image acquisition, requiring correction. This has previously been accomplished using a pulse of the gradient coil, imparting a linear phase gradient across the sample opposite of that due to the RF coil elements. However, the phase gradient due to the coil elements reverses on opposite sides of the coils, preventing gradient-based phase compensation with sandwich arrays. To utilize such arrays, which extend the imaging field of view of this technique, a fourth gradient channel and coil were implemented to simultaneously provide phase compensation of opposite magnitude to the lower and upper regions of a sample, imparting opposite phase gradients to compensate for the opposite RF coil phase patterns of the arrays. The fourth gradient coil was designed using a target field approach and constructed using printed circuit boards. This coil was integrated with an RF excitation coil, dual-sided receive array, and sample loading platform to form a single imaging probe capable of both ultra-fast and high resolution magnetic resonance imaging. By employing the gradient coil, this probe was shown to simultaneously provide improved phase compensation throughout a sample, enabling simultaneous SEA imaging using arrays placed below and above a sample. The fourth gradient coil also improves the acquisition efficiency of highly accelerated imaging using both arrays for receive. The same imaging probe was shown to facilitate accelerated MR microscopy over the field of view of the entire array with no changes to the hardware configuration. The spatio-temporal imaging capabilities of this system were explored with magnetic resonance elastography.

The material properties of the mitral valve chordae tendineae are important for the understanding of leaflet coaptation configuration and chordal pathology. This research combines basic histology with standard mechanical tests to determine the functioning role of the chordae tendineae during the cardiac cycle. Dual camera stereo photogrammetry was used to measure strains of the chordae in vitro under normal physiologic loading conditions. A uniaxial test simulating the same loading conditions was conducted. Histology and biochemical assays were performed on the chordae to determine chordal microstructure. Six porcine mitral valves were used for the in vitro flow loop study. The maximum strain experienced was 4.29% l 3.43% and was experienced at 249 msec after the start of valve closure. The loading rate was slightly higher than the unloading rate. The anterior lateral strut chordae had a higher maximum strain and loading rate than the posterior medial strut chordae. The posterior medial strut chordae had a higher unloading rate than the anterior lateral strut chordae. Histological examination revealed blood vessels in the chordae. The anterior strut chordae contain significantly more vessels than the other chordae. Different structural levels were observed for all chordae. The inner layer was characterized by a higher concentration of collagen; whereas, the middle layer was collagen with interwoven elastin fibers. The collagen microstructure was characterized by directional crimping. The anterior and posterior marginal chordae contained significantly more DNA than the other chordae (p<0.01). The anterior strut chord was found to contain significantly less DNA than all the other chordae (p<0.01). The collagen assay results showed that the posterior marginal chord contained significantly more collagen than the other chordae (p<0.01). The Fastin Elastin assay results showed no significant difference in the amount of elastin between the chordae. This study demonstrates the first in vitro examination of the strain experienced by the chordae tendineae of the mitral valve. This technique allows the investigation of the behavior of biological tissues under physiologic loading conditions. Contrary to earlier belief, vessels were found in the chordae. The microstructure and biochemical composition of the chordae tendineae is related to their function during coaptation.

Imaging speed is very important in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), especially in dynamic cardiac applications, which involve respiratory motion and heart motion. With the introduction of reduced-data MR imaging methods, increasing acquisition speed has become possible without requiring a higher gradient system. But these reduced-data imaging methods carry a price for higher imaging speed. This may be a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) penalty, reduced resolution, or a combination of both. Many methods sacrifice edge information in favor of SNR gain, which is not preferable for applications which require accurate detection of myocardial boundaries. The central goal of this thesis is to develop novel reduced-data imaging methods to improve reconstructed image performance. This thesis presents a novel reduced-data imaging method, PINOT (Parallel Imaging and NOquist in Tandem), to accelerate MR imaging. As illustrated by a variety of computer simulated and real cardiac MRI data experiments, PINOT preserves the edge details, with flexibility of improving SNR by regularization. Another contribution is to exploit the data redundancy from parallel imaging, rFOV and partial Fourier methods. A Gerchberg Reduced Iterative System (GRIS), implemented with the Gerchberg-Papoulis (GP) iterative algorithm is introduced. Under the GRIS, which utilizes a temporal band-limitation constraint in the image reconstruction, a variant of Noquist called iterative implementation iNoquist (iterative Noquist) is proposed. Utilizing a different source of prior information, first combining iNoquist and Partial Fourier technique (phase-constrained iNoquist) and further integrating with parallel imaging methods (PINOT-GRIS) are presented to achieve additional acceleration gains.

In MR imaging, techniques for acquisition of reduced data (Rapid MR imaging) are being explored to obtain high-quality images to satisfy the conflicting requirements of simultaneous high spatial and temporal resolution, required for functional studies. The term “rapid” is used because reduction in the volume of data acquisition leads to faster scans. The objective is to obtain high acceleration factors, since it indicates the ability of the technique to yield high-quality images with reduced data (in turn, reduced acquisition time). Reduced data acquisition in conventional (sequential) MR scanners, where a single receiver coil is used, can be achieved either by acquiring only certain k-space regions or by regularly undersampling the entire data in k-space. In parallel MR scanners, where multiple receiver coils are used to acquire high-SNR data, reduced data acquisition is typically accomplished using regular undersampling. Optimal region selection in the 3D k-space (restricted to ky - kz plane, since kx is the readout direction) needs to satisfy “maximum energy compaction” and “minimum acquisition” requirements. In this thesis, a novel star-shaped truncation window is proposed to increase the achievable acceleration factor. The proposed window monotonically cuts down the acquisition of the number of k-space samples with lesser energy. The truncation window samples data within a star-shaped region centered around the origin in the ky - kz plane. The missing values are extrapolated using generalized series modeling-based methods. The proposed method is applied to several real and synthetic data sets. The superior performance of the proposed method is illustrated using the standard measures of error images and uptake curve comparisons. Average values of slope error in estimating the enhancement curve are obtained over 5 real data sets of breast and abdomen images, for an acceleration factor of 8. The proposed method results in a slope error of 5%, while the values obtained using rectangular and elliptical windows are 12% and 10%, respectively. k-t BLAST, a popular method used in cardiac and functional brain imaging, involves regular undersampling. However, the method suffers from drawbacks such as separate training scan, blurred training estimates and aliased phase maps. In this thesis, variations to k-t BLAST have been proposed to overcome the drawbacks. The proposed improved k-t BLAST incorporates variable-density sampling scheme, phase information from the training map and utilization of generalized-series extrapolated training map. The advantage of using a variable density sampling scheme is that the training map is obtained from the actual acquisition instead of a separate pilot scan. Besides, phase information from the training map is used, in place of phase from the aliased map; generalized series extrapolated training map is used instead of the zero-padded training map, leading to better estimation of the unacquired values. The existing technique and the proposed variations are applied on real fMRI data volumes. Improvement in PSNR of activation maps of up to 10 dB. Besides, a reduction of 10% in RMSE is obtained over the entire time series of fMRI images. The peak improvement of the proposed method over k-t BLAST is 35%, averaged over 5 data sets. Most image reconstruction techniques in parallel MR imaging utilize the knowledge of coil sensitivities for image reconstruction, along with assumptions of image reconstruction functions. The thesis proposes an image reconstruction technique that neither needs to estimate coil sensitivities nor makes any assumptions on the image reconstruction function. The proposed cartesian parallel imaging using neural networks, called “Composite image Reconstruction And Unaliasing using Neural Networks” (CRAUNN), is a novel approach based on the observation that the aliasing patterns remain the same irrespective of whether the k-space acquisition consists of only low frequencies or the entire range of k-space frequencies. In the proposed approach, image reconstruction is obtained using the neural network framework. Data acquisition follows a variable-density sampling scheme, where low k-space frequencies are densely sampled, while the rest of the k-space is sparsely sampled. The blurred, unaliased images obtained using the densely sampled low k-space data are used to train the neural network. Image is reconstructed by feeding to the trained network, the aliased images, obtained using the regularly undersampled k-space containing the entire range of k-space frequencies. The proposed approach has been applied to the Shepp-Logan phantom as well as real brain MRI data sets. A visual error measure for estimating the image quality used in compression literature, called SSIM (Structural SIMilarity) index is employed. The average SSIM for the noisy Shepp-Logan phantom (SNR = 10 dB) using the proposed method is 0.68, while those obtained using GRAPPA and SENSE are 0.6 and 0.42, respectively. For the case of the phantom superimposed with fine grid-like structure, the average SSIM index obtained with the proposed method is 0.7, while those for GRAPPA and SENSE are 0.5 and 0.37, respectively. Image reconstruction is more challenging with reduced data acquired using non-cartesian trajectories since aliasing introduced is not localized. Popular technique for non-cartesian parallel imaging CGSENSE suffers from drawbacks like sensitivity to noise and requirement of good coil estimates, while radial/spiral GRAPPA requires complete identical scans to obtain reconstruction kernels for specific trajectories. In our work, the proposed neural network based reconstruction method, CRAUNN, has been shown to work for general non-cartesian acquisitions such as spiral and radial too. In addition, the proposed method does not require coil estimates, or trajectory-specific customized reconstruction kernels. Experiments are performed using radial and spiral trajectories on real and synthetic data, and compared with CGSENSE. Comparison of error images shows that the proposed method has far lesser residual aliasing compared to CGSENSE. The average SSIM index for reconstructions using CRAUNN with spirally and radially undersampled data, are comparable at 0.83 and 0.87, respectively. The same measure for reconstructions using CGSENSE are 0.67 and 0.69, respectively. The average RMSE for reconstructions using CRAUNN with spirally and radially undersampled data, are comparable at 11.1 and 6.1, respectively. The same measure for reconstructions using CGSENSE are 16 and 9.18, respectively.