Brain magnetic resonance imaging at 3 Tesla using BLADE compared with standard rectilinear data sampling

OBJECTIVES: We sought to evaluate Periodically Rotated Overlapping ParallEL Lines with Enhanced Reconstruction (PROPELLER; BLADE) data acquisition in comparison with standard k-space sampling techniques for axial and sagittal brain imaging at 3 T regarding imaging artifacts. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forty patients who gave consent were included in a prospective comparison of standard and PROPELLER (BLADE) k-space sampling techniques. All examinations were performed at 3 T with comparison of standard T2-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) to PROPELLER T2-weighted FLAIR in the axial image orientation and standard T1-weighted gradient echo to PROPELLER T1-weighted FLAIR in the sagittal image orientation. Imaging protocols were matched for spatial resolution, with data evaluation performed by 2 experienced neuroradiologists. Image data were compared regarding various image artifacts and overall image quality. Reader agreement was assessed by Cohen's kappa statistics. RESULTS: PROPELLER T2-weighted axial data acquisition showed significantly less pulsation and Gibb's artifacts than the standard T2-weighted scan. Even without motion correction, the frequency of ghosting (motion) artifacts was substantially lower in the PROPELLER T2-weighted data and readers concordantly (kappa = 1) rated PROPELLER as better than or equal to the standard T2-weighted scan in the majority of cases (95%; P < 0.0001). In the comparison of sagittal T1-weighted data sets, readers showed only fair agreement (kappa = 0.24) and noted consistent wrap artifacts in PROPELLER T1-weighted FLAIR. CONCLUSION: PROPELLER (BLADE) brain magnetic resonance imaging is also applicable at 3 T. In addition to minimizing motion artifacts, the PROPELLER acquisition scheme reduces other magnetic resonance artifacts that would otherwise degrade scan quality.