Simulation study of the effect of golden-angle KWIC with generalized kinetic model analysis on diagnostic accuracy for lesion discrimination.

PURPOSE: To quantitatively evaluate temporal blurring of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI data generated using a k-space weighted image contrast (KWIC) image reconstruction technique with golden-angle view-ordering.

METHODS: K-space data were simulated using golden-angle view-ordering and reconstructed using a KWIC algorithm with a Fibonacci number of views enforced for each annulus in k-space. Temporal blurring was evaluated by comparing pharmacokinetic model parameters estimated from the simulated data with the true values. Diagnostic accuracy was quantified using receiver operator characteristic curves (ROC) and the area under the ROC curves (AUC).

RESULTS: Estimation errors of pharmacokinetic model parameters were dependent on the true curve type and the lesion size. For 10mm benign and malignant lesions, estimated AUC values using the true and estimate AIFs were consistent with the true AUC value. For 5mm benign and 20mm malignant lesions, estimated AUC values using the true and estimated AIFs were 0.906±0.020 and 0.905±0.021, respectively, as compared with the true AUC value of 0.896.

CONCLUSIONS: Although the investigated reconstruction algorithm does impose errors in pharmacokinetic model parameter estimation, they are not expected to significantly impact clinical studies of diagnostic accuracy.