Magnetom skyra 3.0 t mr scanner

MRI studies were performed by a 3.0-T SKYRA MR scanner (MAGNETOM 3.0 T SKYRA MR scanner, Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany) using explorer gradients (maximum gradient of 40, 40, and 45 m T/m along the x, y, and z axis, respectively and a slew rate of 200 m T/m/ms) and a phased-array multi-coil system (12 elements). Images were obtained using broad spectrum non-contrast enhanced MRI sequences commonly applied for imaging lung lesions, including breath-hold C-VIBE and a r-VIBE sequence. The r-VIBE sequence was acquired using a totally free-breathing method without any navigator or trigger methods. Selected parameters of the applied sequences are shown in Table 1.
Table 1

Parameters of the applied MRI sequences

Parameter	r-VIBE(axial plane)	C- VIBE(axial plane)
TR (ms)	2.79	3.97
TE/TEs (ms)	1.39	1.29
Flip (st)	5	9
Turbo factor	–	–
SENSE factor	–	CAIPIRINHA
Plane	Axial	Axial
NSA	1	1
FOV (mm)	380	380
RecFOV (%)	100	81.3
Matrix	320 × 320	320 × 320
Slice thickness	1.2	3
Breath-hold	No	Yes
Acquisition time (s)	5:30	16``

To perform MRI studies, a 3.0-T SKYRA MR scanner (MAGNETOM 3.0T SKYRA MR scanner, Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany) was operated with explorer gradients (maximum gradient of 40, 40, 45 m T/m along x, y and z axis, respectively, and a slew rate of 200 m T/m/ms) and a phased-array multi-coil system (12 elements). Images were obtained using a free-breathing r-VIBE sequence (TR, 2.79ms; TR/TEs, 1.39ms; Flip (st), 5; FOV, 380mm; Matrix, 320 × 320; Slice thickness, 1.2mm; Breath-hold, no; Acquisition time (min), 5:30). The r-VIBE sequence was acquired with a totally free-breathing method, which did not involve any navigator or trigger.

All subjects were imaged on a MAGNETOM Skyra 3.0 T MR scanner (Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany) using a product 32-channel head coil for signal reception. The brain scanning protocol consisted of a 3D T1-weighted (T1W) magnetization-prepared rapid gradient echo (MPRAGE) sequence for anatomical structure (repetition time (TR) = 7.3 ms, echo time (TE) = 2.4 ms, inversion time (TI) = 900 ms, flip angle = 9°, isotropic voxel size = 1 mm³) and a 3D multi-echo gradient echo (mGRE) sequence for quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) (TR = 50 ms, first TE = 6.8 ms, TE interval = 4.1 ms, number of echoes = 10, flip angle = 15°, voxel size = 1 ×1 ×2 mm³). In addition, T2-weighted (T2W) turbo spin echo, T2W fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), diffusion-weighted, and susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) scans were acquired to detect brain abnormalities. Before the scan, all participants remained in a normal state of respiration and heart rate. All participants were required to be awake and quietly breathing until the end of the scan.