Whole-Body Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Large Population-Based German National Cohort Study: Predictive Capability of Automated Image Quality Assessment for Protocol Repetitions

Background Reproducible image quality is of high relevance for large cohort studies and can be challenging for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Automated image quality assessment may contribute to conducting radiologic studies effectively. Purpose The aims of this study were to assess protocol repetition frequency in population-based whole-body MRI along with its effect on examination time and to examine the applicability of automated image quality assessment for predicting decision-making regarding repeated acquisitions. Materials and Methods All participants enrolled in the prospective, multicenter German National Cohort (NAKO) study who underwent whole-body MRI at 1 of 5 sites from 2014 to 2016 were included in this analysis (n = 11,347). A standardized examination program of 12 protocols was used. Acquisitions were carried out by certified radiologic technologists, who were authorized to repeat protocols based on their visual perception of image quality. Eleven image quality parameters were derived fully automatically from the acquired images, and their discrimination ability regarding baseline acquisitions and repetitions was tested. Results At least 1 protocol was repeated in 12% (n = 1359) of participants, and more than 1 protocol in 1.6% (n = 181). The repetition frequency differed across protocols (P
Source: Investigative Radiology - Category: Radiology Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research