Predicting the image quality of respiratory-gated and breath-hold 3D MRCP from the breathing curve: a prospective study

Objectives To compare the image quality of breath-hold magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (BH-MRCP) and respiratory-gating MRCP (RG-MRCP), and to explore breathing curve-based factors and patient-related data affecting image quality. Methods A total of 126 participants who underwent RG-MRCP and BH-MRCP on a 3-T magnetic resonance (MR) scanner were enrolled from May to December 2021. The images were evaluated by three radiologists on a 5-point scale. Respiratory parameters were extracted from the breathing curves. The Wilcoxon test was used to compare the image quality between the two MRCPs. Logistic regression analyzes were performed to identify age, sex, abdominal pain, and breathing predictor variables of better image quality. Results BH-MRCP performed better in visualizing intrahepatic bile ducts and overall image quality than RG-MRCP (p < 0.01). Factors predicting relatively good image quality included lower standard deviation of the respiratory amplitude (SDamp)-minimum-peak (odds ratio = 0.16, p < 0.01) for RG-MRCP and lower SDamp (OR = 0.69, p < 0.01) for BH-MRCP. Conclusions BH-MRCP had significantly better overall image quality than RG-MRCP. Respiratory conditions exerted a significant impact on MRCP image quality, and parameters derived from the breathing curve could help predict the image quality of both sequences.

Automated summary

This study compared the image quality of breath-hold magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (BH-MRCP) and respiratory-gating MRCP (RG-MRCP), and found that BH-MRCP performed better in visualizing bile ducts and overall image quality. Respiratory conditions had a significant impact on MRCP image quality, and parameters derived from the breathing curve could help predict the image quality of both sequences.