Assessing 3D Resolution of DCE-MRI for Optimization and Standardization of Breast Screening Protocols

Marco Borri¹, Maria Schmidt¹, Erica Scurr¹, Toni Wallace¹, Steven Allen¹, Nandita deSouza¹, Martin O. Leach¹

Spatial resolution of 3D fat-suppressed DCE pulse sequences depends on many parameters, and parity of protocols across breast screening centres is highly desirable. The objective of this work was to propose methods for quality assurance in breast screening programmes. We compared the image quality achieved with two different k-space sampling patterns, Radial and Linear, on a breast screening sequence. Resolution was evaluated with Test Objects and on Clinical Data, and, considering all three directions, was superior for Linear. The Image Analysis methodologies used were found to be robust and reproducible, and are therefore candidates to become quality assurance tools.