Min Lang1, Samuel Cartmell2, Azadeh Tabari2, Daniel Briggs2, Oleg Pianykh2, John Kirsch3, Stephen Cauley3, Wei-Ching Lo4, Seretha Risacher2, Augusto Goncalves Filho3, Marc D Succi1, Otto Rapalino2, Pamela Schaefer2, John Conklin2, Susie Y Huang5. 1. Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 55 Fruit Street Boston, Boston, Massachusetts; Medically Engineered Solutions in Healthcare Incubator, Innovation in Operations Research Center (MESH IO), Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. 2. Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 55 Fruit Street Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. 3. Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 55 Fruit Street Boston, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts. 4. Siemens Medical Solutions, Boston, Massachusetts. 5. Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 55 Fruit Street Boston, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts. Electronic address: susie.huang@mgh.harvard.edu.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Clinical validation studies have demonstrated the ability of accelerated MRI sequences to decrease acquisition time and motion artifact while preserving image quality. The operational benefits, however, have been less explored. Here, we report our initial clinical experience in implementing fast MRI techniques for outpatient brain imaging during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Aggregate acquisition times were extracted from the medical record on consecutive imaging examinations performed during matched pre-implementation (7/1/2019-12/31/2019) and post-implementation periods (7/1/2020-12/31/2020). Expected acquisition time reduction for each MRI protocol was calculated through manual collection of acquisition times for the conventional and accelerated sequences performed during the pre- and post-implementation periods. Aggregate and expected acquisition times were compared for the five most frequently performed brain MRI protocols: brain without contrast (BR-), brain with and without contrast (BR+), multiple sclerosis (MS), memory loss (MML), and epilepsy (EPL). RESULTS: The expected time reductions for BR-, BR+, MS, MML, and EPL protocols were 6.6 min, 11.9 min, 14 min, 10.8 min, and 14.1 min, respectively. The overall median aggregate acquisition time was 31 [25, 36] min for the pre-implementation period and 18 [15, 22] min for the post-implementation period, with a difference of 13 min (42%). The median acquisition time was reduced by 4 min (25%) for BR-, 14.0 min (44%) for BR+, 14 min (38%) for MS, 11 min (52%) for MML, and 16 min (35%) for EPL. CONCLUSION: The implementation of fast brain MRI sequences significantly reduced the acquisition times for the most commonly performed outpatient brain MRI protocols.
INTRODUCTION: Clinical validation studies have demonstrated the ability of accelerated MRI sequences to decrease acquisition time and motion artifact while preserving image quality. The operational benefits, however, have been less explored. Here, we report our initial clinical experience in implementing fast MRI techniques for outpatient brain imaging during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Aggregate acquisition times were extracted from the medical record on consecutive imaging examinations performed during matched pre-implementation (7/1/2019-12/31/2019) and post-implementation periods (7/1/2020-12/31/2020). Expected acquisition time reduction for each MRI protocol was calculated through manual collection of acquisition times for the conventional and accelerated sequences performed during the pre- and post-implementation periods. Aggregate and expected acquisition times were compared for the five most frequently performed brain MRI protocols: brain without contrast (BR-), brain with and without contrast (BR+), multiple sclerosis (MS), memory loss (MML), and epilepsy (EPL). RESULTS: The expected time reductions for BR-, BR+, MS, MML, and EPL protocols were 6.6 min, 11.9 min, 14 min, 10.8 min, and 14.1 min, respectively. The overall median aggregate acquisition time was 31 [25, 36] min for the pre-implementation period and 18 [15, 22] min for the post-implementation period, with a difference of 13 min (42%). The median acquisition time was reduced by 4 min (25%) for BR-, 14.0 min (44%) for BR+, 14 min (38%) for MS, 11 min (52%) for MML, and 16 min (35%) for EPL. CONCLUSION: The implementation of fast brain MRI sequences significantly reduced the acquisition times for the most commonly performed outpatient brain MRI protocols.
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