Spatiotemporal encoding MRI in a portable low-field system
(Finalist for the 2025 Young Investigator Award)

Abstract Purpose Demonstrate the potential of spatiotemporal encoding (SPEN) MRI to deliver largely undistorted 2D, 3D, and diffusion weighted images on a 110 mT portable system.

Methods SPEN’s quadratic phase modulation was used to subsample the low-bandwidth dimension of echo planar acquisitions, delivering alias-free images with an enhanced immunity to image distortions in a laboratory-built, low-field, portable MRI system lacking multiple receivers.

Results Healthy brain images with different SPEN time-bandwidth products and subsampling factors were collected. These compared favorably to EPI acquisitions including topup corrections. Robust 3D and diffusion weighted SPEN images of diagnostic value were demonstrated, with 2.5 mm isotropic resolutions achieved in 3 min scans. This performance took advantage of the low specific absorption rate and relative long TEs associated with low-field MRI.

Conclusion SPEN MRI provides a robust and advantageous fast acquisition approach to obtain faithful 3D images and DWI data in low-cost, portable, low-field systems without parallel acceleration.

Recommended citation: Qiu, Y., Dai, K., Zhong, S., Chen, S., Wang, C., Chen, H., Frydman, L., & Zhang, Z. (2024). "Spatiotemporal encoding MRI in a portable low-field system." Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. 92(3), 1011-1021. doi: 10.1002/mrm.30104
Download Paper