Coronary MR angiography: Respiratory motion correction with BACSPIN

Purpose To improve the signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) of breath‐held coronary magnetic resonance angiography (CMRA) without increasing the number or duration of breath holds. Materials and Methods In this BACSPIN (Breathing AutoCorrection with SPiral INterleaves) technique, a single breath‐held electrocardiogram (ECG)‐gated multi‐slice interleaved‐spiral data set is acquired, followed by repeated imaging of the same slices during free breathing. Each spiral interleaf from the breath‐held data set is used as a standard for comparison with corresponding acquisitions at the same interleaf angle during free breathing. The most closely matched acquisitions are incorporated into a multi‐slice, multi‐average data set with increasing SNR over time. In‐plane translations of the coronary artery can be measured and compensated for each accepted acquisition before combination with the other acquisitions. Results CMRA was performed on six volunteers, with improved SNR and minimal motional blurring. In some cases, breath holding could be dispensed with completely and the average respiratory position used as a reference. Conclusion BACSPIN provides a promising method for CMRA with improved SNR and limited breath‐holding requirements. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2003;17:170–176. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.