Assessment of Motion Patterns in Free Breathing MRI of the Abdomen using Continuously Tagged Imaging

Andre M. J. Sprengers¹, Matthan W. A. Caan¹, Aart J. Nederveen¹, Jaap Stoker¹, Rolf M. Lamerichs²

This study presents the use of continuously tagged imaging for detailed motion assessment in the entire abdomen during free breathing. MRI in the abdominal area is hampered by low tissue contrast and abundant presence of motion artifacts. Motion suppression is never 100% effective and increases the burden of the protocol. The continuously tagged method provides high spatiotemporal resolution information of the unconstrained motion in the abdomen suitable for both motion correction and diagnostic purposes i.e. motility assessment.