Wideband MRI

From real-time biological information to functional imaging, the improved temporal/spatial resolution provided by US and JP patented Wideband MRI technology enables a wide variety of applications never before envisioned, and paves the way for fast whole-body early-stage cancer screening in the near future.

• Faster
  • Shorter scan time
  • Combination with other acceleration techniques can push the total time reduction further.
• Valuable
  • High patient throughput
  • Economic investment
  • High compatibility with existing MRI sequences speeds up all kinds of scans.
• Better
  • Sub-mm spatial resolution
  • No Image quality tradeoff in Wideband MRI regardless the degree of acceleration
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• Wideband MRI can dramatically reduce the MR imaging time and greatly improve the performance of MR imaging
• More than 4 times acceleration can be achieved on our human system with Wideband 3D MRI, even 8~10 times can be obtained.
• It is, accelerated on a dimension orthogonal to MSME and parallel imaging meaning that one can gain more speed with the combination of these methods.

• Wideband MRI is compatible to almost every existing MR sequence. It allows a direct speedup to these sequences, and to the world of MRI as well.
• Wideband MRI is most ideal for applications obtaining large coverage such as fast large area/whole human body screening.
• More applications in whole body screen, fMRI and Molecular imaging will easily enhance MR technology

• Wideband MRI provides much more information without losing SNR/contrast.
• With Wideband MRI, 3D MR imaging is a highly efficient method for the next generation MRI
• Wideband Isotropic 3D imaging sequence with high resolution can be available in the clinical environments

Full size demonstration (9.52 MB)

• Total scan time: 8 min (original ~1hr)
• Slice Positions

Full size demonstration (21.88 MB)

• W=3 knee 0.5mm isotropic imaging
• total scan time:13min (original ~40min)

Full size demonstration (23.70 MB)

• Applying Wideband DTI with W=2, only 1/2 excitations/acquisitions are needed for whole coverage.
• TR can be reduced and total scan time can be cut to half.

• Total scan time: 17min (original 35min)

• Higher spatial or temporal resolution can potentially provide more insights into the relationship between the neural activation and physiological processes.

• Wideband MRI was used to improve the spatial and temporal resolution of gradient echo imaging(GRE) in fMRI.

• Anesthesia by α-chloralose and using forepaw electrical stimulation by 3Hz and 3mA. Repetion 120 scans and lasted 4 minutes totally.

• Wideband MRI of the human lower limb

• a.Image and SNR of GRAPPA (R=2) only
• b.Image and SNR of GRAPPA (R=2) with W=2 Wideband MRI
• c.Image and SNR of GRAPPA (R=2) W=4

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• W=12
• Matrix size for each slab:50 x 60 x 353
• Resolution:0.2 x 0.2 x 0.2 mm3
• NEX:4
• Total scan time:24min
• 12 slices of each slab acquire simultaneously!!

• Wideband MRI can reduce 6x scan time from the conventional DTI scanning.
• Total scan time: 27hrs → 4.5 hrs
• Stacking-up and Rotation images

• Null DWI

• B = 1200 s/mm², DWI(1,1,0)

• DWI (1, 1, 0) with Mask

• Validation by Anatomical Image
• The spinal nerve L4, L5, L6 and sciatic nerves are consistent in anatomical image and MIP result.

• WonderScan can acquire 2x higher spatial resolution rat cardiac cine MRI.
• Spatial resolution: 260 µm² → 130 µm²
  • Conventional Cardiac Cine MRI (260 µm²)
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  • WonderScan Cardiac Cine MRI (130 µm²)
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  • (a) Full field-of-view 5.0×5.0 cm² of rat heart.
  • (b)© Conventional and WonderScan cardiac cine MRI in the ventricular filling stage .
  • (d)(e) Conventional and WonderScan cardiac cine MRI in late diastole.
  • The conventional method spatial resolution is 260×260 µm² and WonderScan is 130×130 µm².
  • In the ventricular filling stage, the papillary muscle of conventional method is barely see from the image while the papillary muscle and chordae tendineae can be clearly observed in WonderScan. In the late diastolic stage, valve open is obvious in WonderScan.

• Simultaneous excitation and receive of multislab eliminates slice timing interpolation errors in fMRI data. figure below exhibited synchronized cerebral-cerebellar connectivity.
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  • W=2
  • Matrix size for each slab:80 x 160 mm³
  • Slice thickness:0.5 mm
  • Resolution:0.3125 mm³

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  • W=4
  • Illustration of 4X-accelerated Wideband MRI. Four slabs were acquired simultaneously.
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  • W=4
  • Total scan time: 96 min → 24 min
  • Comparison of 3D high-resolution (150 μm isotropic) T2* weighted magnitude image and susceptibility maps in three-orthogonal transections acquired by the W=4 accelerated Wideband MRI.
  • (A-C) Magnitude images of rat brain.
  • (D-F) Susceptibility maps of rat brain.
  • In comparison, the para- and dia-magnetic brain tissues can be differentiated by the QSM, but did not by the magnitude images.
  • (cc, corpus callosum; ac, anterior commissure; csf, cerebral spinal fluid; rrhv, rostral rhinal vein; sss, superior sagittal sinus; sts, straight sinus).

• 6 international patents filed and more to come..

1. Wu EL, Chiueh TD*, Chen JH*, “Multiple-frequency excitation wideband MRI (ME-WMRI)”. Med Phys. 2014 Sep;41(9):092304. doi: 10.1118/1.4893502.

1. W.-E. Chen, Y.-A. Huang, J.-H. Chen."Magnetic Resonance Thermometry of Rat Using Wideband technique". The 7th annual meeting of the World Molecular Imaging Congress, Seoul, Korea, September 17-20, (2014)
2. Y.-H. Chuang, Y.-A. Huang, Y.-H. Tung, E. L. Wu, T.-D. Chiueh, J.-H. Chen. "A Preliminary Study of 3D Mouse Spine Diffusion Tensor Imaging by Utilizing Wideband MRI Technique". The 7th annual meeting of the World Molecular Imaging Congress, Seoul, Korea, September 17-20, (2014)
3. Y.-H. Chuang, Y.-A. Huang, E. L. Wu, T.-D. Chiueh, J.-H. Chen. "Employing Wideband MRI to Diffusion Tensor Image in Rat Brain with Higher Spatial Resolution". The 7th annual meeting of the World Molecular Imaging Congress, Seoul, Korea, September 17-20, (2014)
4. Y.-A. Huang, S.-H. Yang, T.-H. H. Chao, E. L. Wu, D.-Y. Chen, K.-H. Cho, Y.-C. Chang, T.-D. Chiueh, C. W. Wu, L.-W. Kuo, J.-H. Chen ”A Pilot Study of 2X Temporal Resolution Wideband Gradient-Echo in Rodent fMRI". The 20th Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping, Hamburg, Germany, June 8-12, (2014)
5. S.-H. Yang, Y.-A. Huang, T.-H. H. Chao, D.-Y. Chen, K.-H. Cho, L.-W. Kuo, J.-H. Chen, C. W. Wu. “Impacts of Single Carrier Wideband Gradient-Echo Sequence in BOLD Contrast. ”Proceedings of the 22th ISMRM Annual Meeting, Milan, Italy, May 10-16, (2014)
6. Y.-A. Huang, S.-H. Yang, T.-H. H. Chao, E. L. Wu, D.-Y. Chen, K.-H. Cho, Y.-C. Chang, C. W. Wu, L.-W. Kuo, J.-H. Chen Employing Wideband Gradient-Echo MRI to Map the Functional Activation in Rat Somatosensory Cortex with Enhanced Spatial Resolution. Proceedings of the 22th ISMRM Annual Meeting, Milan, Italy, May 10-16, (2014)
7. Y.-A. Huang, E. L. Wu, T.-D. Chiueh, J.-H. Chen. “High Resolution 3D MR Imaging Using 3x Acceleration Wideband MRI Technique.” in the 35th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, Osaka, Japan, Jul 3-7, (2013)
8. Y.-A. Huang, E. L. Wu, T.-D. Chiueh, J.-H. Chen. W=2 Acceleration Single carrier Wideband MRI Technique and Blur Mitigation Method. Proceedings of the 21th ISMRM Annual Meeting, Salt lake City, U.S.A., Apr 20-26, (2013)
9. Y.-A. Huang, E. L. Wu, T.-D. Chiueh, J.-H. Chen, J. Liu. A Preliminary Study of 3D Rat Spine Imaging by Using Wideband MRI Technique. Proceedings of the 21th ISMRM Annual Meeting, Salt lake City, U.S.A., Apr 20-26, (2013).
10. Edzer L. Wu, Yun-An Huang, Tzi-Dar Chiueh, Jyh-Horng Chen,"2X accelerated whole brain isotropic MRA using Wideband MRI", Proc. 20th ISMRM Ann Meeting, Melbourne, Australia, May 7-13, 2012.
11. In-Tsang Lin, Edzer L. Wu, Hong-Chang Yang, Jyh-Horng Chen, “HTS Volume Coil Enhanced SNR in Wideband Mice Whole Body Screening”, Proc. 19th ISMRM Ann Meeting, Motreal, Quebec, May 7-13, 2011.
12. E. L. Wu, J-H. Chen, and T-D. Chiueh, “Wideband MRI: Theoretical Analysis and Its Applications”Proceedings of the 32nd Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Aug 31-Sep 4, 2010, pp.5681
13. Wideband MRI: A New Dimension of MR Image Acceleration, Edzer L. Wu et al. Proc. Intl. Soc. Mag. Reson. Med. 17 (2009)
14. 3D Isotropic Brain Imaging Using Wideband MRI, Edzer L. Wu et al. Proc. Intl. Soc. Mag. Reson. Med. 17 (2009)
15. Reduction of Diffusion Tensor Imaging Acquisition Time with Wideband MR Imaging, Edzer L. Wu et al. Proc. ISMRM. 17 (2009)
16. Wideband Parallel Imaging, Fu-Hsing Wu et al. Proc. Intl. Soc. Mag. Reson. Med. 17 (2009)