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Abstract #4894

Automated Vendor-Independent Open-Source Quality Assurance Protocol using Pulseq

Qingping Chen1, Frank Zijlstra1,2,3, Sebastian Littin1, Jon-Fredrik Nielsen4, and Maxim Zaitsev1
1Division of Medical Physics, Department of Radiology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany, 2Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, St. Olav's University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway, 3Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway, 4Functional MRI Laboratory, University Of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States

Synopsis

Keywords: System Imperfections, System Imperfections: Measurement & Correction, Vendor-Neutral Automated Quality Assurance

Motivation: Ensuring comparable performance of MR protocols across vendors and over time duration.

Goal(s): To implement an easy-to-use vendor-independent quality control pulse sequences and data analysis routines.

Approach: Relying on Pulseq as a vendor-independent MR pulse sequence environment, we implemented the established quality assurance protocols (ACR/fBIRN). Following the image reconstruction from the acquired data, performed either on the scanner or off-line in Gadgetron, images are analyzed by the open-source Matlab pipeline.

Results: The proposed protocol has been tested on three 3T Siemens scanners with over a decade difference in the manufacturing date and has been successfully executed on a 3T GE scanner.

Impact: The proposed protocol and post-processing scripts allow for easy and streamlined quality assurance, contributing an essential component for Pulseq to become usable in large scale multicenter imaging studies.

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Keywords