Michael
Hofer1, Steven Keeling2, Gernot Reishofer3,
Michael Riccabona4, Manuela Aschauer3, Rudolf
Stollberger1
1Institute of Medical Engineering, Graz
University of Technology, Graz, Austria; 2Institute for
Mathematics and Scientific Computing, University of Graz, Graz, Austria; 3Department
of Radiology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria; 4Department
of Pediatric Radiology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
Dynamic
contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) is a very promising
method for noninvasive assessment of renal function. To remove the influence
of motion artifacts like breathing, a novel registration approach is proposed
which derives a template image series with the underlying signal time course.
This results in an independency from signal changes due to contrast media
uptake. The original dynamic time series (source images) is then registered
by elastic registration to this virtual template. The algorithm successfully
reduces motion artifacts. Comparisons between pre and post registration
underlines the importance of image registration in DCE-MRI examinations.