Abstract #4182

Prostate DCE-MRI with a 16-Channel Surface Array and Endorectal Coil Using Slice Oversampling and SENSE to Minimize Blood Inflow Effect

Marcelino Bernardo^1,2, Yuxi Pang^3,4, Baris Turkbey², Raphael Alford², Vijay Shah², Ahmed M. Gharib⁵, Peter Choyke²

¹Imaging Physics, SAIC-Frederick, Inc., Frederick, MD, USA; ²Molecular Imaging Program, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA; ³Philips Medical Systems, Cleveland, OH, USA; ⁴Molecular Imaging Program,, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA; ⁵NIDDK, Bethesda, MD, USA

To overcome blood inflow effect in accurately determining the arterial input function from the femoral artery in prostate DCE-MRI, we have performed a preliminary study on two patients to evaluate four-fold slice oversampling with SENSE using the 16-channel anterior half of a 32-channel cardiac array in combination with an endorectal coil. The thicker excitation slab provides for a more accurate determination of the contrast agent concentration in the blood which should provide for more consistent pharmacokinetic parameters across patients but there is a factor of two loss in temporal resolution. The addition of the posterior half and a dual element endorectal coil should improve SENSE performance.