Method for improved dynamic contrast enhanced imaging using tracer-kinetic models as constraints

US11412948B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• University of Southern California · US

Inventors

• Krishna S. Nayak · Los Angeles, US
• Yi Guo · Los Angeles, US
• Robert Marc Lebel · Calgary, CA
• Yinghua Zhu · Montgomery, US
• Sajan Goud Lingala · Hickory Corner, US

Key dates

• Filing date: May 15, 2017
• Grant date: Aug 16, 2022
• Expiry date: Jul 16, 2040

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01R33/5611
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

Tracer kinetic models are utilized as temporal constraints for highly under-sampled reconstruction of DCE-MRI data. The method is flexible in handling any TK model, does not rely on tuning of regularization parameters, and in comparison to existing compressed sensing approaches, provides robust mapping of TK parameters at high under-sampling rates. In summary, the method greatly improves the robustness and ease-of-use while providing better quality of TK parameter maps than existing methods. In another embodiment, TK parameter maps are directly reconstructed from highly under-sampled DCE-MRI data. This method provides more accurate TK parameter values and higher under-sampling rates. It does not require tuning parameters and there are not additional intermediate steps. The proposed method greatly improves the robustness and ease-of-use while providing better quality of TK parameter maps than conventional indirect methods.