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Black Blood Fast Spin Echo imaging of the heart is usually performed during mid-diastolic rest. This is a direct consequence of the long inversion time required to suppress the blood signal, which is constrained by the T(1) of the blood, and of the heart rate. To overcome these constraints, and to acquire black blood images in the end-systolic rest period, a new approach is introduced aiming at adaptively predicting the best time to prepare and acquire MR signals. It is based on a RR interval prediction algorithm and on a cardiac cycle model. The proposed method was applied to 14 healthy volunteers and is compared to a simple alternative method using a fixed delay and to the standard black blood imaging method for imaging in the mid-diastolic rest period. Results show that the proposed method offers an increased robustness in terms of trigger delay error and image quality compared to the tested simple alternative. Also, it has been shown by qualitative analysis done by an experienced observer that the right ventricle, especially the thin right ventricle free wall, is better depicted with our method than with the standard mid-diastolic rest acquisition.

This paper describes a rigorous framework for reconstructing MR images of the heart, acquired continuously over the cardiac and respiratory cycle. The framework generalizes existing techniques, commonly referred to as retrospective gating, and is based on the properties of reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces. The reconstruction problem is formulated as a moment problem in a multidimensional reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces (a two-dimensional space for cardiac and respiratory resolved imaging). Several reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces were tested and compared, including those corresponding to commonly used interpolation techniques (sinc-based and splines kernels) and a more specific kernel allowed by the framework (based on a first-order Sobolev RKHS). The Sobolev reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces was shown to allow improved reconstructions in both simulated and real data from healthy volunteers, acquired in free breathing.

A reconstruction strategy is proposed for physiological motion correction, which overcomes many limitations of existing techniques. The method is based on a general framework allowing correction for arbitrary motion–nonrigid or affine, making it suitable for cardiac or abdominal imaging, in the context of multiple coil, arbitrarily sampled acquisition. A model is required to predict motion in the field of view at each sample time point, based on prior knowledge provided by external sensors. A theoretical study is carried out to analyze the influence of motion prediction errors. Small errors are shown to propagate linearly in that reconstruction algorithm, and thus induce a reconstruction residue that is bounded (stability). Furthermore, optimization of the motion model is proposed in order to minimize this residue. This leads to reformulating reconstruction as two inverse problems which are coupled: motion-compensated reconstruction (known motion) and model optimization (known image). A fixed-point multiresolution scheme is described for inverting these two coupled systems. This framework is shown to allow fully autocalibrated reconstructions, as coil sensitivities and motion model coefficients are determined directly from the corrupted raw data. The theory is validated with real cardiac and abdominal data from healthy volunteers, acquired in free-breathing. Magn Reson Med 60:146–157, 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Background During pediatric cardiac Cine-MRI, data acquired during cycles of different lengths must be combined. Feinstein’s model is used to project multiple cardiac cycles of variable lengths into a mean cycle. Methods 1/The temporal errors during Feinstein’s projection were computed in 306 cardiac cycles fully characterized by tissue Doppler imaging with 6-phase analysis (from a population of 7 children and young adults). 2/The effects of these temporal errors on tissue velocities were assessed by simulating a typical tissue phase mapping acquisition and reconstruction. 3/Myocardial velocities curves, extracted from high-resolution phase-contrast cine images, were compared for the 6 volunteers with lowest and highest heart rate variability, within a population of 36young adults. Results 1/The mean of temporal misalignments was 30ms over the cardiac cycle but reached 60ms during early diastole. 2/During phase contrast MRI simulation, early diastole velocity peaks were diminished by 5cm/s leading to virtual disappearance of isovolumic relaxation peaks. 3/The smoothing and erasing of isovolumic relaxation peaks was confirmed on tissue phase mapping velocity curves, between subjects with low and high heart rate variability (p=0.05). Conclusions Feinstein cardiac model creates temporal misalignments that impair high temporal resolution (notably for phase contrast cine imaging) in a population of high heart rate variations such as in paediatry (figure next page). Download : Download high-res image (187KB) Download : Download full-size image Abstract 0217 – Figure: Velocity curves with/without heart rate variation

Exploiting redundancies between multiple images of an MRI examination can be formalized as the joint reconstruction of these images. The anatomy is preserved indeed so that specific constraints can be implemented (e.g. most of the features or spatial gradients should be in the same place in all these images) and only the contrast changes from one image to another need to be encoded. The application of this concept is particularly challenging in cardiovascular and body imaging due to the complex organ deformations, especially with the patient breathing. In this study a joint optimization framework is proposed for reconstructing multiple MR images together with a nonrigid motion model. The motion model takes into account both intra-image and inter-image motion and therefore can correct for most ghosting/blurring artifacts and misregistration between images. The framework was validated with free-breathing myocardial T2 mapping experiments from nine heart transplant patients at 1.5 T. Results showed improved image quality and excellent image alignment with the multi-image reconstruction compared to the independent reconstruction of each image. Segment-wise myocardial T2 values were in good agreement with the reference values obtained from multiple breath-holds (62.5 ± 11.1 ms against 62.2 ± 11.2 ms which was not significant with p=0.49).

Introduction MRI is nowadays an indispensable technique with its excellent resolution achieved without ionizing radiations. Active implantable medical devices exist (such as pacemakers) which are MRI-compatible and do not show any hazardous local heating when interacting with the MRI machine radiofrequency, but multiple devices, as when two leads are side by side, were studied [1] , [2] but are not know enough to allow the implanted patients in these cases to undergo an MRI scan. The work presented here focuses on the coupling effects and the resulting heating between two leads, by simulation and experiments. Material and methods An ASTM [3] phantom inside a radiofrequency “birdcage” antenna was modeled with the CST Microwave Studio software (CST GmbH, Darmstadt, Germany). Two simples metallic cables, isolated and 5 mm bare at one tip were inserted in the phantom, spaced with 2.5 mm. One of them was also isolated at the upper extremity (referred to as “capped”) while the other one had its two tips bare (referred to as “uncapped”). An electromagnetic simulation was made and its results were used to launch a thermal simulation. With the latter, the temperature variations versus time were collected at both cables’ tips. The same process was repeated for each cable alone. Corresponding experiment were made with a Signa HDx 1.5 T MRI machine (GE Healthcare Technologies, Milwaukee, WI), an ASTM phantom filled with gel and cables made to match the simulations. An FSE sequence was used, generating high radiofrequency heating measured by optical temperature probes. Results Simulations and experiments show a coupling between the two cables: it is indeed observed that the “capped” cable heating is halved in presence of the “uncapped” cable. It is also observed that alone, the “capped” cable heats more that the “uncapped” one, but once together the higher heating is at the “uncapped” cable’s tip (see the appendix for the curves). Conclusion This study highlights the existence of lead coupling, such as it could occur in a patient’s body. This coupling could be explained by a theoretical model of two antennas subjected to radiofrequency, including mutual inductance and capacitance between the cables. Moreover, experiments on implant leads such as pacemaker leads could allow concluding on the occurrence of the phenomenon in more concrete cases. In the end, understanding this kind of interactions will allow a evolution in the design of medical devices, for each patient to be allowed to undergo an MRI scan safely, whatever his or her implants. Acknowledgement The authors thank the Region Lorraine and FEDER for financial support. Download : Download high-res image (188KB) Download : Download full-size image

International audience; PURPOSE:To evaluate if measurement of split renal function ( SRF split renal function ) with dynamic contrast material-enhanced ( DCE dynamic contrast enhanced ) magnetic resonance (MR) urography is equivalent to that with renal scintigraphy ( RS renal scintigraphy ) in patients suspected of having chronic urinary obstruction.MATERIALS AND METHODS:The study protocol was approved by the institutional ethics committee of the coordinating center on behalf of all participating centers. Informed consent was obtained from all adult patients or both parents of children. This prospective, comparative study included 369 pediatric and adult patients from 14 university hospitals who were suspected of having chronic or intermittent urinary obstruction, and data from 295 patients with complete data were used for analysis. SRF split renal function was measured by using the area under the curve and the Patlak-Rutland methods, including successive review by a senior and an expert reviewer and measurement of intra- and interobserver agreement for each technique. An equivalence test for mean SRF split renal function was conducted with an α of 5%.RESULTS:Reproducibility was substantial to almost perfect for both methods. Equivalence of DCE dynamic contrast enhanced MR urography and RS renal scintigraphy for measurement of SRF split renal function was shown in patients with moderately dilated kidneys (P < .001 with the Patlak-Rutland method). However, in severely dilated kidneys, the mean SRF split renal function measurement was underestimated by 4% when DCE dynamic contrast enhanced MR urography was used compared with that when RS renal scintigraphy was used. Age and type of MR imaging device had no significant effect.CONCLUSION:For moderately dilated kidneys, equivalence of DCE dynamic contrast enhanced MR urography to RS renal scintigraphy was shown, with a standard deviation of approximately 12% between the techniques, making substitution of DCE dynamic contrast enhanced MR urography for RS renal scintigraphy acceptable. For severely dilated kidneys, a mean underestimation of SRF split renal function of 4% should be expected with DCE dynamic contrast enhanced MR urography, making substitution questionable.

International audience; OBJECT:Phase contrast imaging is widely used to measure blood velocity. However tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) echocardiography is the reference for myocardial velocity assessment. This study aims at validating the ability of phase contrast (PC) sequences to correctly assess myocardial velocities and to compare these velocities to TDI. The phase contrast sequence was performed with breath-hold parameters and with parameters tuned to increase temporal resolution in free breathing.MATERIALS AND METHODS:Left and Right auriculo-ventricular annuluses longitudinal velocities were recorded on six healthy volunteers with different temporal resolutions (TDI: 5 ms, breath-hold PC: 94 ms and free-breathing PC: 19 ms). Free-breathing PC was obtained by averaging of three excitations. Amplitudes of four standard echocardiographic and clinically relevant myocardial longitudinal velocity waves were compared: Early filling and auricular, systolic and isovolumic contractions.RESULTS:Isovolumic contraction waves were only visible with free-breathing PC and TDI. The differences with the reference TDI wave velocities were lower (p = 0.02) for free-breathing PC (19.2 ± 2.6%) than for breath-hold PC (28.1 ± 2.9%). These differences for free-breathing PC were close to (p = 0.21) the coefficient of variation of the measurements provided by TDI (14.8 ± 1.2%).CONCLUSION:Myocardial longitudinal peak velocities can be assessed with a PC sequence tuned to optimize temporal resolution.

To validate a new index, the surface-length index (SLI) based on area change in a short-axis view and length reduction in the horizontal long-axis view, which is used to quickly (1 min) detect right ventricles with an abnormal ejection fraction (EF) during a cardiac MRI examination. SLI can be used to avoid a complete delineation of the endocardial contours of normal right ventricles.Sixty patients (group A) were retrospectively included to calibrate the SLI formula by optimisation of the area under the ROC curves and SLI thresholds were chosen to obtain 100 % sensitivity. Another 340 patients (group B) were prospectively recruited to test SLI's capacity to detect right ventricles (RVs) with an abnormal EF (0.5).The appropriate threshold to obtain 100 % sensitivity in group A was 0.58. In group B, with the 0.58 threshold, SLI yielded a sensitivity of 100 % and specificity of 51 %. SLI would have saved 35 % of the RV studies in our population, without inducing any diagnostic error. SLI and EF correlation was good (r (2) = 0.64).SLI combines two simple RV measures, and brings significant improvement in post-processing efficiency by preselecting RVs that require a complete study.• Assessment of right ventricle ejection fraction (RVEF) with cine-MRI is time consuming. • Therefore, RVEF is not always assessed during cardiac MRI. • Surface-length index (SLI) allows rapid detection of abnormal RVEF during cardiac MRI. • SLI saves one third of the operator time. • Every cardiac MRI could include RVEF assessment by means of SLI.

International audience; Non-invasive quantitative assessment of articular cartilage integrity is essential for early detection and evaluation of osteoarthritis (OA) and for the follow-up of stem-cell-driven cartilage engineering. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of exploiting diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) on porcine knee joints with a clinical magnetic resonance (MR) scanner to extract micro-structural information in order to complement biochemical information quantified by T2 maps. We propose an MR protocol for quantifying T2 and cartilage microstructure with diffusion MR on a clinical scanner. Preliminary results were obtained on four pig knee joints using a 3 T GE clinical MRI scanner and an 8-channel knee coil array. The measured cartilage volume, T2 values, apparent diffusion coefficient and fractional anisotropy (FA) of femoral and tibial cartilage were respectively 9.8/2.3 mm2, 67.0/56.1 ms, 1.3/1.3×10-3 mm2/s and 0.4/0.3. This new protocol has the potential to be combined in vivo with quantitative assessment of both cartilage degradation and restoration in osteoarthritis.

Magnetic resonance images are affected by motion artefacts due to breathing and cardiac beating that occur during the acquisition. Methods for joint reconstruction of image and motion have been proposed recently. Such optimization problems are ill-conditioned, therefore regularization methods are required such as motion smoothness constraints using the Tikhonov method. However with Tikhonov methods the solution often relies on a good choice of the regularization parameter micron, especially in large parameter search spaces (e.g., in 3D reconstructions). In this paper, we propose an adaptive, implicit regularization method which results in subject-specific, spatially varying smoothness constraints on the motion model. It is based on the idea of solving for motion only in certain key points that form a mesh. A practical algorithm is proposed for generating this mesh automatically. The proposed method is shown to have a better convergence rate than the Tikhonov method, both in silico and in vivo. The accuracy of the reconstructed image and motion is also improved.

Object Quantitative T 2 measurement is applied in cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) for the diagnosis and follow-up of myocardial pathologies. Standard Electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated fast spin echo pulse sequences can be used clinically for T 2 assessment, with multiple breath-holds. However, heart rate is subject to physiological variability, which causes repetition time variations and affects the recovery of longitudinal magnetization between TR periods. Materials and methods The bias caused by heart rate variability on quantitative T 2 measurements is evaluated for fast spin echo pulse sequence. Its retrospective correction based on an effective TR is proposed. Heart rate variations during breath-holds are provided by the ECG recordings from healthy volunteers. T 2 measurements were performed on a phantom with known T 2 values, by synchronizing the sequence with the recorded ECG. Cardiac T 2 measurements were performed twice on six volunteers. The impact of T 1 on T 2 is also studied. Results Maximum error in T 2 is 26% for phantoms and 18% for myocardial measurement. It is reduced by the proposed compensation method to 20% for phantoms and 10% for in vivo measurements. Only approximate knowledge of T 1 is needed for T 2 correction. Conclusion Heart rate variability may cause a bias in T2 measurement with ECG-gated FSE. It needs to be taken into account to avoid a misleading diagnosis from the measurements.

Summary This study demonstrates the feasibility of free-breathing phase-contrast CINE MRI without averaging. A new version of the CINE GRICS algorithm[1] was used to correct for motion. Background Phase-contrast MRI encodes speed and direction of moving spins by means of toggling a bipolar gradient. It is a valuable tool for assessing conditions affecting the vascular system by measuring the velocity of flowing blood[2]. Clinically, this sequence is performed in breath-hold or in free breathing but, in the latter case, using signal averaging. We propose to demonstrate the feasibility of free-breathing phase-contrast CINE MRI without averaging exploiting the acquisition redundancy by applying a new version of the CINE GRICS algorithm[1] to correct for motion. Methods Cardiac examination (approved by our local ethics committee) was performed on one normal volunteer during which three 2D phase-contrast CINE MRI sequences (common parameters: 256x128 acquisition matrix, 6 views per segment (vps), 32 reconstructed cardiac phases, 150 cm/sec VENC, slice direction velocity encoding, 5 mm slice thickness, 44 cm FOV, 62.5 kHz bandwidth, 3.05/8.08 ms TE/TR, 15° flip angle) were acquired on a 3T scanner (Signa HDxt, GE Healthcare, Milwaukee, WI) with a 8-element cardiac coil : (1) breath-held (2) averaged (3 NEX) in free breathing (3) in free breathing storing the raw data of 3 NEX to an external computer for offline processing. Signals from a respiratory belt were carried by a custom Maglife patient monitoring system (Schiller Medical, France) and recorded with a dedicated home-made hardware. Offline processing consisted of splitting the raw data from the 2 velocity encoding steps thus giving 2 sets of

Magnetic resonance images are affected by motion artefacts due to breathing and cardiac beating that occur during the acquisition. Methods for joint reconstruction of image and motion have been proposed recently. Such optimization problems are ill-conditioned, therefore regularization methods are required such as motion smoothness constraints using the Tikhonov method. However with Tikhonov methods the solution often relies on a good choice of the regularization parameter μ, especially in large parameter search spaces (e.g. in 3D reconstructions). In this paper, we propose an adaptive, implicit regularization method which results in subject-specific, spatially varying smoothness constraints on the motion model. It is based on the idea of solving for motion only in certain key points that form a mesh. A practical algorithm is proposed for generating this mesh automatically. The proposed method is shown to have a better convergence rate than the Tikhonov method, both in silico and in vivo. The accuracy of the reconstructed image and motion is also improved.

International audience; Reproducibility of the manual assessment of right ventricle volumes by short-axis cine-MRI remains low and is often attributed to the difficulty in separating the right atrium from the ventricle. This study was designed to evaluate the regional interobserver variability of the right ventricle volume assessment to identify segmentation zones with the highest interobserver variability. Short-axis views of 90 right ventricles (30 hypertrophic, 30 dilated, and 30 normal) were acquired with 2D steady-state free precession sequences at 1.5 T and were manually segmented by two observers. The two segmentations were compared and the variations were quantified with a variation score based on the Hausdorff distance between the two segmentations and the interobserver 95% limits of concordance of the global volumes. The right ventricles were semiautomatically split into four subregions: apex, mid-ventricle, tricuspid zone, and infundibulum. These four subregions represented 11%, 34%, 36%, and 19% of the volume but, respectively, yielded variation scores of 8%, 16%, 42%, and 34%. The infundibulum yielded the highest interobserver regional variability although its variation score remained comparable to the tricuspid zone due to its lower volume. These results emphasize the importance of standardizing the segmentation of the infundibulum and the tricuspid zone to improve reproducibility.

The analysis of abdominal and thoracic dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI is often impaired by artifacts and misregistration caused by physiological motion. Breath-hold is too short to cover long acquisitions. A novel multipurpose reconstruction technique, entitled dynamic contrast-enhanced generalized reconstruction by inversion of coupled systems, is presented. It performs respiratory motion compensation in terms of both motion artefact correction and registration. It comprises motion modeling and contrast-change modeling. The method feeds on physiological signals and x-f space properties of dynamic series to invert a coupled system of linear equations. The unknowns solved for represent the parameters for a linear nonrigid motion model and the parameters for a linear contrast-change model based on B-splines. Performance is demonstrated on myocardial perfusion imaging, on six simulated data sets and six clinical exams. The main purpose consists in removing motion-induced errors from time–intensity curves, thus improving curve analysis and postprocessing in general. This method alleviates postprocessing difficulties in dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI and opens new possibilities for dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI analysis. Magn Reson Med, 2011. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

International audience; In clinical applications, cardiac gated sequences are commonly used for heart imaging. In practice, we simply wait a fixed time called Trigger Delay (TD) after the R-wave has been detected to acquire data in the chosen cardiac phase. The main problem of this method is that the TD is constant and does not take into account the physiological variability such as instantaneous heart rate changes during breath-hold or free breathing. Another issue is that we cannot use a TD shorter than the preparation time. Consequently when a cardiac gated sequence with a long preparation time is used, only diastolic images are achievable. Double Inversion Recovery Fast Spin Echo (DIR-FSE), resulting in black-blood images of the heart [1], is such a sequence since the inversion time (TI) needed to cancel the blood signal is around 500ms. Systolic view of the heart could also be of clinical interest, especially during end-systolic phase when the cardiac volume is minimum and constant (average TD = 300ms, average duration 60ms [2]). The primary aim of this work was to assess a robust method to acquire black blood FSE in end-systolic phase. For this purpose, the DIR preparation has to be launched before the R-wave in the previous cardiac cycle. A RR interval prediction is then needed and heart rate variability has to be accounted in order to position the acquisition window properly. A new general adaptive method is described here that overcomes the above listed limitations in prospectively cardiac gated sequences with long preparation time using a predictive model. This method has been applied on end-systolic black blood FSE images.

L'imagerie par résonance magnétique (IRM) du coeur reste difficile. Les solutions retenues dans la pratique clinique pour limiter les problèmes liés aux mouvements sont l'apnée et la synchronisation cardiaque. En imagerie cardiaque, la séquence Double Inversion Recovery Fast Spin Echo (DIR-FSE) est couramment utilisée [1]. Cependant, cette séquence, synchronisée avec l'activité cardiaque, nécessite un temps de préparation long (TI). Le temps entre l'onde R et l'acquisition (TD) est donc également long. Par conséquent, cette séquence n'est utilisée qu'en diastole (figure 1-a). De plus, les variations de rythme cardiaque instantanées (temps entre 2 ondes R consécutives) ne sont pas prises en compte. Afin de passer outre ces limitations, nous proposons deux techniques pour acquérir les séquences DIR-FSE en fin de systole (relaxation iso-volumétrique, volume cardiaque minimum et constant). Ces acquisitions en fin de systole devraient nous permettre de mieux voir le ventricule droit en raison de sa contraction. Les deux méthodes proposées seront comparées entre elles en terme de robustesse. Elles seront également comparées à la méthode conventionnelle en terme de visualisation du ventricule droit.

International audience; This article describes a general framework for multiple coil MRI reconstruction in the presence of elastic physiological motion. On the assumption that motion is known or can be predicted, it is shown that the reconstruction problem is equivalent to solving an integral equation--known in the literature as a Fredholm equation of the first kind--with a generalized kernel comprising Fourier and coil sensitivity encoding, modified by physiological motion information. Numerical solutions are found using an iterative linear system solver. The different steps in the numerical resolution are discussed, in particular it is shown how over-determination can be used to improve the conditioning of the generalized encoding operator. Practical implementation requires prior knowledge of displacement fields, so a model of patient motion is described which allows elastic displacements to be predicted from various input signals (e.g., respiratory belts, ECG, navigator echoes), after a free-breathing calibration scan. Practical implementation was demonstrated with a moving phantom setup and in two free-breathing healthy subjects, with images from the thoracic-abdominal region. Results show that the method effectively suppresses the motion blurring/ghosting artifacts, and that scan repetitions can be used as a source of over-determination to improve the reconstruction.

This paper presents a framework allowing parallel MRI to be optimized. Parallel imaging relies on good coil sensitivity map estimates. As these sensitivities are determined experimentally, errors may occur during their assessment, whether using prior calibration (due to patient motion between calibration and actual scan), or autocalibration (due to lower resolution, suboptimal estimates). Here we reformulate reconstruction as a coupled inverse problem, consisting of simultaneously solving the parallel imaging problem, based on SENSE algorithm, and minimizing the propagation of sensitivity map errors in that reconstruction. The problem is practically solved using a multiresolution fixed-point iterative method, producing both the reconstructed image and optimized sensitivity maps. The method was validated by comparing sensitivity maps and reconstructed images obtained by standard SENSE reconstruction, based on a reduced number of autocalibration signal (ACS) data, to those obtained by the proposed method, starting from the same ACS data as initial guess.

Cardiac MRI sequences are generally synchronized on the R wave of the ECG and the read out is done in the ventricular iastole. Depending to the heart rate (HR) and so on the RR interval, an optimal trigger delay (TD), an acquisition time (AT) (which is a function of MR parameters) and a trigger window (TW) are defined before scanning. For Black Blood acquisition, IR pulses are currently played directly on the R wave to have an inversion time (TI) of the blood on read out. Unfortunately, physiological changes of the RR timing especially during breath hold make all these fixed timings non optimum. Additionally, optimal TI for complete nulling of wash in blood is not always compatible with HR > 85 bpm. Moreover, if acquisition of systolic phase is desired, these IR pulses have to be place before the current R wave in the preceding heart cycle. We propose a prediction of the next RR duration based on previous RR cycles. The prediction of RR interval will be used to adapt MR timing parameters (TD, TW, TI, AT) during scanning and enable black blood images in the systolic phase.

International audience; A system was developed for real-time electrocardiogram (ECG) analysis and artifact correction during magnetic resonance (MR) scanning, to improve patient monitoring and triggering of MR data acquisitions. Based on the assumption that artifact production by magnetic field gradient switching represents a linear time invariant process, a noise cancellation (NC) method is applied to ECG artifact linear prediction. This linear prediction is performed using a digital finite impulse response (FIR) matrix, that is computed employing ECG and gradient waveforms recorded during a training scan. The FIR filters are used during further scanning to predict artifacts by convolution of the gradient waveforms. Subtracting the artifacts from the raw ECG signal produces the correction with minimal delay. Validation of the system was performed both off-line, using prerecorded signals, and under actual examination conditions. The method is implemented using a specially designed Signal Analyzer and Event Controller (SAEC) computer and electronics. Real-time operation was demonstrated at 1 kHz with a delay of only 1 ms introduced by the processing. The system opens the possibility of automatic monitoring algorithms for electrophysiological signals in the MR environment.

A multimodality platform (CT, PET, Radiotherapy) has been developed in order to move phantoms (maximum weight: 70kg). This allows the study of the influence of motion on image quality. The translation system (160 mm in the z axis, maximal speed of 50 mm × s -1 ) was controlled by a computer via a NI Motion Controller PCI 7344 (National Instrument, TX, USA). As an initial experiment, an anthropomorphic cardiac CT phantom (QRM, Moehrendorf, Germany) was moved linearly with speeds of 5, 10 and 20 mm × s -1 . Acquisitions were done on a Siemens Somatom Volume Zoom CT Scanner. To compare dynamic and static images, mutual information, correlation coefficient, standard deviation, volume computation and radiologist scoring were conducted. The mean position error of the platform was 0.1mm ± 0.04. Automatic evaluation of the image quality and/or the blurring is not easy. As predicted, we found an increase in artifacts with the speed of the phantom. The platform allows us to simulate physiological motions (respiratory and cardiac) in order to study their real influence on image quality and to correct them. We can already produce z axis physiological motion with the platform. More degrees of freedom (y and z rotations, x and y translations) will be added to improve the simulation of physiological motions.

Myocardial T2 mapping is a valuable tool for tissue characterization and oedema visualization. For instance, it is used to detect early rejection of heart transplant [1]. T2 values are usually estimated by performing several black blood Fast Spin Echo (FSE) sequences with different Echo Times (TE), what requires multiple breath holds. Successive apneas could lead to misregistration between images and to patient discomfort. A method allowing free breathing myocardial T2 measurements has been recently proposed and evaluated at 3T [2]. Results at 1.5T are presented here.

International audience; Double Inversion Recovery Fast Spin Echo (DIR-FSE) sequences, resulting in black-blood images, are widespread in cardiac exams [1] as high resolution and great contrast between heart cavities and walls are achieved. For these sequences, DIR pulses are generally played on the R wave and the inversion time (TI) needed to cancel blood signal (~500ms) only allows diastolic view of the heart. Cardiac contraction is complete at end systole so myocardium can be better observed during this short phase. To perform systolic acquisitions, DIR pulses have to be placed before the R wave in the previous heart cycle and RR interval prediction is mandatory. Moreover, as systole is generally shorter than diastole, shorter echo trains are desirable, resulting in longer acquisition time incompatible with breath hold. A method which combines (i) heart rate prediction [2], (ii) respiratory motion estimation [3] and (iii )motion compensated construction [4] is presented. It allows free breathing black-blood systolic imaging and has been tested on five subjects.

International audience; Cardiac MRI is still challenging due to the perpetual heart motion. In order to avoid cardiac motion artifacts, acquisitions are synchronized with heart activity, generally by triggering on R-waves of the Electrocardiogram (ECG). Double Inversion Recovery Fast Spin Echo (DIR-FSE) sequences, resulting in black-blood images, require furthermore specific timing. For such acquisitions, inversion time (TI) is needed to cancel blood signals (~500ms) [1], making acquisitions in the first 500ms of the cardiac cycle impossible. Black-blood imaging allows then only diastolic view of the heart. Moreover heart rate (HR) variability has been shown to be important during breath-holds [2] making cardiac synchronization even more complicated. In this paper, a RR interval prediction method has been implemented, which permits to launch DIR pulses before R waves and thus enables black blood systolic imaging.

International audience

Methods Eighteen healthy volunteers underwent cardiac MRI examination on a Signa HDxt 3T scanner (General Electric, Waukesha). A phase contrast sequence modified to acquire only the central k-space line was used in a midventricular small axis scan plane with through-plane velocity encoding during 128 heartbeats. The frequency encoding direction was angulated to encompass the projection of the left ventricular outflow tract plane (Figure 1). Relevant parameters were: 256-point frequency k-space size, 35 cm FOV, 1 view per segment, 150 cm/s velocity encoding and 7 ms TR. Data were Fourier transformed into 1D+t image space, subjected to SVD decomposition for automatic spatial segmentation and finally automatic temporal domain peak detection. This process lead to the measurement of four durations for each heartbeat (RR): IsoVolumic Contraction (IVC), Systolic Ejection (SE), IsoVolumic Relaxation (IVR), and Diastolic Diastasis (DD). For every cardiac cycle, the results of the automatic detection were quality controlled by a physician who could either discard the data, correct or accept it. Myocardiac Performance Index (MPI) [4] was computed as (IVC+IVR)/SE as well as normalized systole duration (IVC+SE)/RR and normalized diastasis duration DD/RR. These values were checked

National audience; L'imagerie par résonance magnétique (IRM) du coeur reste difficile. Les solutions retenues dans la pratique clinique pour limiter les problèmes liées aux mouvements sont l'apnée et la synchronisation cardiaque. En imagerie cardiaque, la séquence Double Inversion Récupération Fast Spin Echo (DIR- FSE) est couramment utilisée [1]. Cependant, cette séquence, synchronisée avec l'activité cardiaque, nécessite un temps de préparation long (TI) ce qui contraint le temps entre l'onde R et l'acquisition (TD) à être long. Par conséquent, cette séquence n'est utilisée qu'en diastole. De plus, les variations de rythme cardiaque instantané (temps entre 2 ondes R consécutives) ne sont pas prises en compte (Figure 1-A et 1-B). Afin de passer outre ces limitations, nous désirons mettre en oeuvre une technique adaptative pour utiliser les séquences DIR-FSE en systole (volume cardiaque minimum et constant). Ceci a deux buts : 1. étudier et diagnostiquer certaines maladies en systole et 2. étudier les propriétés magnétiques du coeur en systole et diastole.

In this thesis we used MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) data of the vocal tract to study speech production. The first part consist of the study of the impact that the velum, the epiglottis and the head position has on the phonation of five french vowels. Acoustic simulations were used to compare the formants of the studied cases with the reference in order to measure their impact. For this part of the work, we used 3D static MR (Magnetic Resonance) images. As speech is usually a dynamic phenomenon, a question arose, whether it would be possible to process the 3D data in order to incorporate dynamic information of continuous speech. Therefore the second part presents some algorithms that one can use in order to enhance speech production data. Several image transformations were combined in order to generate estimations of vocal tract shapes which are more informative than the original ones. At this point, we envisaged apart from enhancing speech production data, to create a generic speaker model that could provide enhanced information not for a specific subject, but globally for speech. As a result, we devoted the third part in the investigation of an algorithm that one can use to create a spatiotemporal atlas of the vocal tract which can be used as a reference or standard speaker for speech studies as it is speaker independent. Finally, the last part of the thesis, refers to a selection of open questions of the field that are still left unanswered, some interesting directions that one can expand this thesis and some potential approaches that could help someone move forward towards these directions., Dans cette thèse, nous avons utilisé les données de l’IRM du conduit vocal pour étudier la production de la parole. La première partie consiste en l’étude de l’impact que le vélum, l’épiglotte et la position de la tête a sur la phonation de cinq voyelles françaises. Des simulations acoustiques ont été utilisées pour comparer les formants des cas étudiés avec la référence afin de mesurer leur impact. Pour cette partie du travail, nous avons utilisé des IRM statiques en 3D. Comme la parole est généralement une phénomène dynamique une question s’est posée, à savoir s’il serait possible de traiter les données 3D afin d’incorporer des informations temporelles de la parole continue. Par conséquent, la deuxième partie présente quelques algorithmes que l’on peut utiliser pour améliorer les données de production de la parole. Plusieurs transformations d’images ont été combinées afin de générer des estimations des formes du conduit vocal qui sont plus informatives que les originales. À ce stade, nous avons envisagé, outre l’amélioration des données de production de la parole, de créer un modèle de référence générique qui pourrait fournir des informations améliorées non pas pour un sujet spécifique, mais globalement pour la parole. C’est pourquoi nous avons consacré la troisième partie l’étude d’un algorithme permettant de créer un atlas spatio-temporel de l’appareil vocal qui peut être utilisé comme référence ou standard pour l’étude de la parole car il est indépendant du locuteur. Enfin, la dernière partie de la thèse, fait référence à une sélection de questions ouvertes du domaine qui restent encore sans réponse, quelques pistes intéressantes que l’on peut développer à partir de cette thèse et quelques approches potentielles qui pourraient être envisager afin de répondre à ces questions.

Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is a promising tool to increase the specificity of MRI for breast cancer screening. However, the field of view covering the breasts makes the DWI at high resolution difficult and the images obtained have low signal-to-noise ratios (SNR). The current DWI techniques are limited by the spatial resolution, mainly a slice thickness greater than or equal to 3 mm. In this work, an isotropic DWI method was developed to obtain high resolution isotropic images (1x1x1 mm3) covering the entire breast. These images are obtained by combining: (i) a readout-segmented DW-EPI sequence (rs-EPI), with several segments of k-space and echo navigator providing high in-plane resolution, (ii) a super-resolution (SR) strategy, which consists of acquiring three datasets with thick slices (3 mm) and 1mm-shifts in the slice direction, (iii) and combining them into a 1x1x1 mm3 dataset using a dedicated reconstruction. Several SR reconstruction schemes were investigated, based on different regularizations. The proposed SR strategy was compared to native 1x1x1 mm3 acquisitions (i.e. with 1 mm slice thickness) on eight healthy subjects, and synthetics phantoms. To validate the SR method, we used several methods: Monte Carlo simulations, SNR measurements and sharpness metrics, the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values in normal breast tissue and breast diffusion/resolution phantom were also compared. A new clinical research protocol is proposed to evaluate the effectiveness of the high resolution diffusion sequence on breast cancer screening. The aim of this protocol is to replace the contrast-enhanced perfusion by the diffusion sequence for screening.; L’imagerie pondérée en diffusion (DWI) représente un outil prometteur pour augmenter la spécificité de l’IRM mammaire en vue du dépistage du cancer du sein. L’épaisseur de coupe pour une acquisition ayant un rapport signal sur bruit suffisant et couvrant les seins dans un temps compatible avec un examen clinique, reste égale ou supérieur à 3 mm, limitant la possibilité de dépistage. Dans ce travail, une méthode DWI isotrope a été développée pour obtenir des images haute résolution isotropes (1x1x1 mm3) couvrant entièrement les seins. Ces images sont obtenues en combinant : (i) une séquence à train de lecture segmenté (rs-EPI) qui correspond à plusieurs segments de lecture EPI avec écho navigation, permettant d’obtenir de hautes résolutions dans le plan, (ii) une stratégie de super-résolution (SR) consistant à acquérir trois jeux de données avec des coupes épaisses (3 mm) et des décalages de 1 mm dans le sens de coupe entre chaque acquisition et (iii) une méthode de reconstruction dédiée pour obtenir des données isotropes 1x1x1 mm3. Plusieurs schémas de reconstruction basés sur différentes régularisations ont été étudiés. La SR proposée a été comparée aux acquisitions natives de 1x1x1 mm3 sans algorithme SR sur huit sujets sains et des fantômes synthétiques. Pour valider la méthode SR, nous avons utilisé plusieurs méthodes : des simulations Monte-Carlo, des mesures de SNR et des métriques de netteté et enfin le coefficient de diffusion apparent (ADC). Ces validations ont aussi été confirmées par des mesures expérimentales sur fantômes contenant des objets de dimensions et diffusion calibrées. Un nouveau protocole de recherche clinique est proposé pour évaluer l’efficacité de la séquence de diffusion à haute résolution sur le dépistage d’un cancer mammaire, dans le but de remplacer la séquence de perfusion avec injection de produit de contraste utilisée en IRM mammaire.

With an aging population worldwide, more and more persons are at risk of suffering from pathologies which are best diagnosed or monitored with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): thus, the number of MRI exams is constantly increasing. Moreover, elderly patients being likely to undergo a medical device implantation (such as a pacemaker or a hip prosthesis) the safety of implanted patient in MRI is crucial. The medical imaging technique involves indeed different electromagnetic fields which can interact with a metallic implant and lead to potential hazard for the patient. Even though compatibility guidelines exist today to subject individually medical devices to standardized tests and ensure their harmlessness in an MRI environment, the interactions between multiple medical devices with respect to radiofrequency electromagnetic waves (and to the hazards that may follow) are a complex research area that has to be understood. The aim of this thesis is to study these interactions on different levels: intra-device interactions, inter-devices interactions and interactions between a device and several antennas. A prediction method has been proposed to simplify the study of large range of implants, according to the variations of parameters characterizing the different parts of a prosthesis. Electromagnetic and thermal simulations, associated with experimental measurements in a clinical MRI environment, allowed to highlight a coupling phenomenon between two simplified implants and to introduce a new metric to quantify them. Finally, a multi-antenna study led to some insights to answer the question of the safety of an implanted patient with several antennas, in a configuration similar to a clinical routine exam. Thus, the research work presented in this thesis allowed to assess the interactions with respect to MRI radiofrequency in presence of one or several medical devices and antennas, opening new prospects towards a safe MRI for everyone, Avec une population mondiale vieillissante, de plus en plus de personnes sont à risque de présenter des pathologies pour lesquelles l’Imagerie par Résonance Magnétique (IRM) est une modalité de choix : ainsi, le nombre d’examens IRM est en constante augmentation. Les patients âgés étant par ailleurs une population davantage susceptible de recevoir une implantation de dispositifs médicaux (tels qu’un pacemaker ou une prothèse de hanche), la sécurité des patients implantés en IRM est primordiale. En effet, cet appareil d’imagerie médicale fait intervenir différents champs électromagnétiques pouvant interagir avec un implant métallique et donner lieu à des risques potentiels pour le patient. Si des normes de compatibilité existent aujourd’hui pour soumettre individuellement les dispositifs médicaux à des tests standardisés et assurer leur innocuité en environnement IRM, les interactions entre multiples dispositifs médicaux vis-à-vis des ondes électromagnétiques radiofréquence (et des dangers qui peuvent en résulter) sont un domaine complexe qu’il est nécessaire de comprendre. L’objet de cette thèse est d’étudier ces interactions sur plusieurs niveaux : interactions intra-dispositif, interactions inter-dispositifs et interactions entre dispositif et plusieurs antennes. Une méthode de prédiction d’échauffement a été proposée pour simplifier l’étude de larges gammes d’implants, suivant les variations de paramètres caractérisant les différentes parties au sein d’une prothèse. Des simulations électromagnétiques et thermiques, associées à des mesures expérimentales dans un environnement IRM clinique, ont permis de mettre en évidence des phénomènes de couplages entre deux implants simplifiés et d’introduire une nouvelle métrique pour les quantifier. Enfin, une étude multi-antennes a fourni des éléments de réponse à la question de la sécurité d’un patient implanté en présence de plusieurs antennes, dans une configuration semblable à celle des examens en routine clinique. Les travaux présentés dans cette thèse ont ainsi permis d’évaluer les interactions vis-à-vis de la radiofréquence de l’IRM en présence d’un ou plusieurs dispositifs médicaux et antennes, ouvrant plusieurs perspectives pour aller vers une IRM sûre pour tous

The Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging modality using electromagnetic fields (EMF) in order to perform human body tomodensitometric images. Even if these fields are Non-Ionizing Radiations (NIR), some transitory effects can be felt by the staff working in the vicinity of the MRI. Such workers are qualified as “exposed” to EMF, even if all expert comities agree to say that no accumulative or long term effects have been identified yet. Short term effects are known and identified, from metallic taste in the mouth, nerve and muscle stimulation, to biologic tissue heating, which can be troublesome or dangerous. The main exposure concern comes from the MRI permanent static magnetic field (ranging from 1.5 T to 7 T). An expert comity, mandated by the World Health Organization (WHO), has therefore defined the evaluation of the exposure of the MRI workers to the static magnetic field as a priority. This was the focus of this PhD thesis. A light and autonomous static magnetic field monitor (called "exposimeter") has been developed. It allows the recording of the three-dimensional magnetic fields as well as workers’ movements. Its magnetic induction measurement accuracy has been ensured by a specific calibration, which takes into account non-linearity and non-orthogonality of the magnetic sensors. Based on exposimeter data, a magnetic induction extrapolation method has then been developed. This method allows the estimation of the EMF exposure at the head with sensors placed on the torso. Finally, a practical validation of the device has been performed in multiple MRI clinical and research centers, included clinical MRIs (1.5 T and 3 T), an interventional MRI (1.5 T) and an ultra-high field MRI (7 T). Metrics have been defined in order to precisely analyze and compare workers exposure. All the works presented in this PhD thesis open new perspectives such as long term static magnetic field exposure follow-up. Moreover, industrial transfer of the device has been performed and is currently being validated; L'Imagerie par Résonance Magnétique (IRM) est une modalité d'imagerie médicale reposant sur l'utilisation de champs électromagnétiques pour acquérir des images tomodensitométriques du corps humain. Bien qu'appartenant à la catégorie des rayonnements non-ionisants (RNI), des effets transitoires peuvent être ressentis par les personnels travaillant à proximité d'une IRM. Ces travailleurs sont dits exposés aux champs électromagnétiques, même si les différents comités d’experts s’accordent pour dire qu’aucun effet d’accumulation de dose ou d’effet à long terme n’a été trouvé. Ces effets à court terme, allant d’un goût métallique au niveau de la bouche à la stimulation nerveuse et à l'échauffement, sont connus et identifiés. Ils peuvent néanmoins provoquer une gêne, voire un danger, pour le travailleur. Ces préoccupations concernent spécifiquement le champ magnétique permanent (de 1,5 T à 7 T) utilisé par l'IRM. Un groupement d'experts mandatés par l'Organisation Mondiale de la Santé (OMS) a ainsi déterminé l'évaluation de l'exposition des travailleurs au champ magnétique statique comme une priorité importante. Les travaux de cette thèse ont permis de répondre à cette demande en définissant et en implémentant un dispositif de mesure autonome et léger permettant la mesure de cette exposition ainsi que la caractérisation des mouvements du travailleur. La justesse de la mesure d'induction magnétique réalisée par le dispositif est garantie par une méthode de correction numérique prenant en compte les défauts de linéarité et d'orthogonalité du capteur. Basée sur les données du capteur, une méthode d'ajustement de la mesure d'induction magnétique a ensuite été définie. Cette méthode permet, à partir d'une mesure réalisée au niveau du torse du travailleur, d'extrapoler la valeur d'induction magnétique au niveau de la tête de celui-ci. Enfin, une validation pratique du dispositif de mesure a été effectuée à travers un suivi de l'exposition des travailleurs IRM de trois centres d'imagerie médicale : imagerie clinique, imagerie interventionnelle et IRM ultra hauts champs (7~T). Des méthodes d'extraction de métriques permettant l'analyse précise et la comparaison de l'exposition des travailleurs au champ magnétique statique ont été proposées. Les travaux présentés dans cette thèse ont ouvert des perspectives intéressantes, permettant de réaliser le suivi à long terme de l'exposition des travailleurs au champ magnétique statique de façon quasi autonome. De plus, une industrialisation des outils et méthodes définis a pu être réalisée et est actuellement en cours de validation

The Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging modality using electromagnetic fields (EMF) in order to perform human body tomodensitometric images. Even if these fields are Non-Ionizing Radiations (NIR), some transitory effects can be felt by the staff working in the vicinity of the MRI. Such workers are qualified as “exposed” to EMF, even if all expert comities agree to say that no accumulative or long term effects have been identified yet. Short term effects are known and identified, from metallic taste in the mouth, nerve and muscle stimulation, to biologic tissue heating, which can be troublesome or dangerous. The main exposure concern comes from the MRI permanent static magnetic field (ranging from 1.5 T to 7 T). An expert comity, mandated by the World Health Organization (WHO), has therefore defined the evaluation of the exposure of the MRI workers to the static magnetic field as a priority. This was the focus of this PhD thesis. A light and autonomous static magnetic field monitor (called "exposimeter") has been developed. It allows the recording of the three-dimensional magnetic fields as well as workers’ movements. Its magnetic induction measurement accuracy has been ensured by a specific calibration, which takes into account non-linearity and non-orthogonality of the magnetic sensors. Based on exposimeter data, a magnetic induction extrapolation method has then been developed. This method allows the estimation of the EMF exposure at the head with sensors placed on the torso. Finally, a practical validation of the device has been performed in multiple MRI clinical and research centers, included clinical MRIs (1.5 T and 3 T), an interventional MRI (1.5 T) and an ultra-high field MRI (7 T). Metrics have been defined in order to precisely analyze and compare workers exposure. All the works presented in this PhD thesis open new perspectives such as long term static magnetic field exposure follow-up. Moreover, industrial transfer of the device has been performed and is currently being validated, L'Imagerie par Résonance Magnétique (IRM) est une modalité d'imagerie médicale reposant sur l'utilisation de champs électromagnétiques pour acquérir des images tomodensitométriques du corps humain. Bien qu'appartenant à la catégorie des rayonnements non-ionisants (RNI), des effets transitoires peuvent être ressentis par les personnels travaillant à proximité d'une IRM. Ces travailleurs sont dits exposés aux champs électromagnétiques, même si les différents comités d’experts s’accordent pour dire qu’aucun effet d’accumulation de dose ou d’effet à long terme n’a été trouvé. Ces effets à court terme, allant d’un goût métallique au niveau de la bouche à la stimulation nerveuse et à l'échauffement, sont connus et identifiés. Ils peuvent néanmoins provoquer une gêne, voire un danger, pour le travailleur. Ces préoccupations concernent spécifiquement le champ magnétique permanent (de 1,5 T à 7 T) utilisé par l'IRM. Un groupement d'experts mandatés par l'Organisation Mondiale de la Santé (OMS) a ainsi déterminé l'évaluation de l'exposition des travailleurs au champ magnétique statique comme une priorité importante. Les travaux de cette thèse ont permis de répondre à cette demande en définissant et en implémentant un dispositif de mesure autonome et léger permettant la mesure de cette exposition ainsi que la caractérisation des mouvements du travailleur. La justesse de la mesure d'induction magnétique réalisée par le dispositif est garantie par une méthode de correction numérique prenant en compte les défauts de linéarité et d'orthogonalité du capteur. Basée sur les données du capteur, une méthode d'ajustement de la mesure d'induction magnétique a ensuite été définie. Cette méthode permet, à partir d'une mesure réalisée au niveau du torse du travailleur, d'extrapoler la valeur d'induction magnétique au niveau de la tête de celui-ci. Enfin, une validation pratique du dispositif de mesure a été effectuée à travers un suivi de l'exposition des travailleurs IRM de trois centres d'imagerie médicale : imagerie clinique, imagerie interventionnelle et IRM ultra hauts champs (7~T). Des méthodes d'extraction de métriques permettant l'analyse précise et la comparaison de l'exposition des travailleurs au champ magnétique statique ont été proposées. Les travaux présentés dans cette thèse ont ouvert des perspectives intéressantes, permettant de réaliser le suivi à long terme de l'exposition des travailleurs au champ magnétique statique de façon quasi autonome. De plus, une industrialisation des outils et méthodes définis a pu être réalisée et est actuellement en cours de validation

Especially in cardiac and thoracic magnetic resonance imaging, respiratory motion and heart movement need to be registered using sensors like electrocardiogram or respiratory belts, in order to trigger the image acquisition or perform retrospective corrections. The placement of the sensors extends the patient preparation time, is critical for signal quality and, hence, image quality, and expects patients to tolerate additional sensors besides the imaging coil and space restrictions. In this work, the imaging coil itself was investigated for sensor-less motion registration. Motion-related variations of the electromagnetic properties of tissue have a direct effect on the coil impedance. Lung motion, myocardial-related motion, and vascular blood flow were registered with this method. The experimental findings were compared to electromagnetic simulations and the data gathered by state-of-the-art sensors, and retrospective motion correction with the GRICS algorithm was executed, En imagerie par résonance magnétique cardiaque et thoracique, les mouvements cardiaques et respiratoires sont enregistrés avec des capteurs tels que les capteurs ECG et les ceintures respiratoires pour synchroniser les acquisitions et pour pratiquer des corrections rétrospectives des images. Le positionnement de ces capteurs augmente le temps de préparation des patients. Il présuppose également la tolérance des patients à être placés dans un espace restreint et déjà contraint par l'antenne radio-fréquence (RF) nécessaire à l'imagerie. Enfin, ces capteurs peuvent diminuer la qualité du signal et donc celle des images. Dans ces travaux, l'antenne RF déjà présente pour la réalisation de l'examen d'imagerie a été elle-même étudiée en tant que capteur de mouvements. Les variations des propriétés électromagnétiques des tissus dues aux mouvements se répercutent de manière directe sur l'impédance de l'antenne. Les variations d'impédance induites par les mouvements ont été étudiées dans des dispositifs utilisant soit des antennes RF volumiques ou des antennes RF surfaciques sur des objets-test animés et sur des sujets sains. Les mouvements respiratoires, cardiaques et les taux sanguins ont été enregistrés avec cette méthode. Puis, les résultats expérimentaux ont été comparés à des simulations électromagnétiques et aux données de la littérature. Une correction de mouvements rétrospective avec l'algorithme GRICS a été appliquée à ces données démontrant la faisabilité de l'utilisation des antennes d'imagerie comme capteurs de mouvements

Cine MRI of cardiac contraction is a relatively slow imaging technique. Comparatively, patient motion, especially cardiac beating and breathing, are fast and can lead to imaging artefacts. Cardiac contraction velocity provides clinically useful information. Firstly, we have shown that making this measurement was possible using phase contrast Cine MRI, and that getting similar values as those obtained in clinical routine using cardiac echography. The condition is to reach high temporal resolution, but to do so, the acquisition duration must be longer than a breathhold. Free-breathing motion management was done by two approaches: by averaging then by motion compensation using Cine-GRICS. Secondly, in order to achieve high temporal resolution Cine reconstruction, we proposed a way to deal with changing heart rate during Cine MRI acquisition, by the construction of a patient adapted cardiac model using realtime phase contrast MRI. Finally, cardio-respiratory motion management was adapted to small animal Cine MRI thanks to IntraGate echo navigators, L'Imagerie par Résonance Magnétique de la cinématique de la contraction cardiaque est une technique d'imagerie relativement lente. En comparaison, les mouvements du patient, en particulier cardiaque et respiratoire, sont rapides et peuvent provoquer des artéfacts sur les images. La vitesse de contraction cardiaque apporte justement des informations cliniquement utiles. Premièrement, nous avons montré qu'il était possible d'effectuer cette mesure en IRM Cine à contraste de phase, et d'obtenir des valeurs similaires à celles obtenues de façon clinique en échographie cardiaque. La condition est d'obtenir une haute résolution temporelle, or, pour ce faire, la durée d'acquisition doit être plus longue qu'une apnée. La gestion du mouvement respiratoire en respiration libre a été réalisée de deux façons : avec moyennage puis avec correction de mouvement à l'aide de Cine-GRICS. Deuxièmement, pour atteindre une bonne reconstruction de la résolution temporelle en Cine, nous avons proposé une gestion temps réel de la variation du rythme cardiaque pendant l'acquisition IRM Cine, avec la construction d'un modèle cardiaque adapté au patient à l'aide de l'IRM à contraste de phase temps réel. Enfin, la gestion du mouvement cardio-respiratoire en IRM Cine est appliquée chez le petit animal à l'aide d'écho navigateurs IntraGate

The right ventricle (RV) has been neglected for a long time by cardiologists. Only recently, it has been pointed out as yielding pronostic or diagnostic value in numerous clinical situations. This thesis, after a review of the different methods used to assess the right ventricular function, stresses the limitations of the two most used methods to assess RV function: 1) Long-axis contraction indices fail to predict ejection fraction in a volumetric overload situation. 2) Short-axis MRI relies upon a rather difficult manual contouring of the endocardium. The main variation in this contouring occurs in the infundibulum (40%) and in the basal part around the tricuspid valve (40%). Then, we propose a novel geometric indice, easy to compute during a MRI examination and aimed to select the patients needing an accurate RV study. This index was validated within 340 patients and reduced the operator time of 35% without inducing any diagnostic error. The last part of this thesis concerns tissue phase-mapping. High temporal resolution is the key point for the accuracy of myocardial velocities and can be achieved by a simple averaging during free-breathing at the expense of longer acquisitions.; Le ventricule droit (VD) fut longtemps oublié par les cardiologues mais l'expérience a montré qu'il conditionne le pronostic des patients dans de nombreuses situations cliniques et que l'évaluation de sa fonction est un élément diagnostique majeur lorsqu'une pathologie du VD est suspectée. Après une revue des différentes méthodes d'évaluation de la fonction ventriculaire droite, cette thèse explore tout d'abord les limites des deux méthodes d'évaluation du VD les plus répandues (IRM et échographie) : Premièrement, les indices de contraction longitudinale en échographie ne permettent pas de dépister correctement les altérations de la fraction d'éjection dans la situation d'une surcharge volumétrique notamment. Deuxièmement, l'IRM en coupes petit-axe présente des difficultés importantes de délinéation de l'endocarde. Les principaux écarts de contours entre deux observateurs concernent l'infundibulum pour 40% et la valve tricuspide pour 40% également. Dans une troisième partie, nous proposons un indice géométrique simple à calculer lors d'un examen IRM et permettant de pré-sélectionner les patients nécessitant une étude précise du VD. Cet indice validé sur 340 patients réduit le temps opérateur de 35% sans entrainer d'erreur diagnostique. La dernière partie de cette thèse s'intéresse 'a la mesure de la vitesse tissulaire du myocarde et aux indices fonctionnels qui en dérivent. Cette mesure nécessite une haute résolution temporelle qui peut être atteinte en IRM en respiration libre au prix d'une augmentation de la durée d'acquisition.

The right ventricle (RV) has been neglected for a long time by cardiologists. Only recently, it has been pointed out as yielding pronostic or diagnostic value in numerous clinical situations. This thesis, after a review of the different methods used to assess the right ventricular function, stresses the limitations of the two most used methods to assess RV function: 1) Long-axis contraction indices fail to predict ejection fraction in a volumetric overload situation. 2) Short-axis MRI relies upon a rather difficult manual contouring of the endocardium. The main variation in this contouring occurs in the infundibulum (40%) and in the basal part around the tricuspid valve (40%). Then, we propose a novel geometric indice, easy to compute during a MRI examination and aimed to select the patients needing an accurate RV study. This index was validated within 340 patients and reduced the operator time of 35% without inducing any diagnostic error. The last part of this thesis concerns tissue phase-mapping. High temporal resolution is the key point for the accuracy of myocardial velocities and can be achieved by a simple averaging during free-breathing at the expense of longer acquisitions., Le ventricule droit (VD) fut longtemps oublié par les cardiologues mais l'expérience a montré qu'il conditionne le pronostic des patients dans de nombreuses situations cliniques et que l'évaluation de sa fonction est un élément diagnostique majeur lorsqu'une pathologie du VD est suspectée. Après une revue des différentes méthodes d'évaluation de la fonction ventriculaire droite, cette thèse explore tout d'abord les limites des deux méthodes d'évaluation du VD les plus répandues (IRM et échographie) : Premièrement, les indices de contraction longitudinale en échographie ne permettent pas de dépister correctement les altérations de la fraction d'éjection dans la situation d'une surcharge volumétrique notamment. Deuxièmement, l'IRM en coupes petit-axe présente des difficultés importantes de délinéation de l'endocarde. Les principaux écarts de contours entre deux observateurs concernent l'infundibulum pour 40% et la valve tricuspide pour 40% également. Dans une troisième partie, nous proposons un indice géométrique simple à calculer lors d'un examen IRM et permettant de pré-sélectionner les patients nécessitant une étude précise du VD. Cet indice validé sur 340 patients réduit le temps opérateur de 35% sans entrainer d'erreur diagnostique. La dernière partie de cette thèse s'intéresse 'a la mesure de la vitesse tissulaire du myocarde et aux indices fonctionnels qui en dérivent. Cette mesure nécessite une haute résolution temporelle qui peut être atteinte en IRM en respiration libre au prix d'une augmentation de la durée d'acquisition.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a valuable tool for the clinical diagnosis for brain imaging as well as cardiac and abdominal imaging. For instance, MRI is the only modality that enables the visualization and characterization myocardial edema. However, motion remains a challenging problem for cardiac MRI. Breathing as well as cardiac beating have to be carefully handled during patient examination. Moreover they limit the achievable temporal and spatial resolution of the images. In this work an approach that takes these physiological motions into account during image reconstruction process has been proposed. It allows performing cardiac examination while breathing freely. First, an iterative reconstruction algorithm, that compensates motion estimated from a motion model constrained by physiological signals, is applied to morphological cardiac imaging. A semi-automatic method for edema detection has been tested on reconstructed images. It has also been associated with an adaptive acquisition strategy which enables free-breathing end-systolic imaging. This reconstruction has then been extended to the assessment of transverse relaxation times T2, which is used for myocardial edema characterization. The proposed method, ARTEMIS, enables free-breathing T2 mapping without additional acquisition time. The proposed free breathing approaches take advantage of physiological signals to estimate the motion that occurs during MR acquisitions. Several solutions have been tested to measure this information. Among them, accelerometer-based external sensors allow local measurements at several locations. Another approach consists in the use of k-space based measurements, which are "embedded" inside the MRI pulse sequence (navigator) and prevent from the requirement of additional recording hardware. Hence, several adaptive reconstruction algorithms were developed to obtain diagnostic information from free breathing acquisitions. These works allow performing efficient and accurate free breathing cardiac MRI; L'imagerie par résonance magnétique (IRM) est un outil remarquable pour le diagnostic clinique, aussi bien pour l'imagerie cérébrale que pour l'imagerie cardiaque et abdominale. C'est notamment la seule modalité d'imagerie qui permet de visualiser et de caractériser l'oedème myocardique. Cependant, la gestion du mouvement reste un problème récurrent en IRM cardiaque. Tant le battement cardiaque que la respiration nécessitent une prise en compte attentive lors de l'acquisition des images et limitent la résolution temporelle et spatiale accessible en pratique clinique courante. L'approche adoptée dans ce travail propose d'intégrer ces mouvements physiologiques dans le processus de reconstruction des images et permet ainsi de réaliser des explorations cardiaques en respiration libre. Un algorithme de reconstruction itératif, corrigeant les mouvements estimés par un modèle contraint par les signaux physiologiques, est dans un premier temps appliqué à l'imagerie cardiaque morphologique. Ses performances vis-à-vis d'une méthode semi-automatique de détection de l'oedème sont évaluées. Il a également été utilisé en association avec une méthode d'acquisition adaptative, afin de permettre l'acquisition d'images en télésystole et en respiration libre. Dans un deuxième temps, cette méthode a été étendue à la quantification du temps de relaxation transversale T2. La cartographie T2 du coeur fournit en effet une caractérisation de l'oedème myocardique. La méthode de reconstruction présentée, ARTEMIS, permet de réaliser cette cartographie en respiration libre et sans allongement du temps d'examen. Ces méthodes exploitent des signaux physiologiques afin d'estimer le mouvement ayant eu lieu pendant l'acquisition. Différentes solutions pour obtenir ces informations physiologiques ont donc également été explorées. Parmi elles, les capteurs à base d'accéléromètres permettent de multiplier les points de mesure alors que les informations "embarquées" dans la séquence d'acquisition IRM ("navigateur") facilitent le déploiement de ces techniques puisqu'elles évitent de recourir à des équipements supplémentaires. Ainsi pendant ces travaux, des méthodes de reconstruction adaptatives ont été développées afin de corriger le mouvement et de prendre en compte les spécificités de chaque patient. Ces travaux ouvrent la voie de l'imagerie par résonance magnétique cardiaque en respiration libre dans un contexte clinique

The aim of this thesis is to study the exact controllability and exact observability of some partial differential equations, modeling elastic vibrations of structures and to apply the results obtained in this way to solve some inverse problems provided by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This thesis has two parts. In the first part we study the exact controllability and exact observability of Euler-Bernoulli equation perturbed with linear or non-linear terms. Therefore, in Chapter 2 of this work we prove the internal exact observability of the Euler-Bernoulli equation perturbed by a linear term and in Chapter 3 we prove the local exact controllability of a non-linear plate equation due to Berger. Chapter 4 provide a numerical method to approximate the exact controls of vibrating systems. The second part of the thesis is centered to magnetic resonance imaging. More precisely, we are interested on the image reconstruction methods in magnetic resonance imaging of moving objects. Chapter 6 describe a method to reconstruct cardiac images from MR data acquired in free-breathing, reducing the image reconstruction to a problem of moments in a Hilbert space. The solution of this problem of moments is obtained using the same tools as in control theory. A more direct connexion between the two parts of the thesis is provided by Chapter 7 where we describe the inverse problem of the identification of a source term in the wave equation from a measure corresponding to a magnetic resonance signal.; Le but de cette thèse est d'étudier, du point de vue théorique, la contrôlabilité exacte de certaines équations aux dérivées partielles qui modélisent les vibrations élastiques, et d'appliquer les résultats ainsi obtenus à la résolution des problèmes inverses provenant de l'imagerie par résonance magnétique (IRM). Cette thèse comporte deux parties. La première partie discute la problématique de la contrôlabilité exacte, respectivement de l'observabilité exacte, de l'équation des plaques perturbées avec des termes linéaires ou non linéaires. Ainsi, dans le Chapitre 2 de cette thèse nous avons démontré l'observabilité interne exacte de l'équation des plaques perturbées par des termes linéaires d'ordre un et dans le Chapitre 3 la contrôlabilité exacte locale d'une équation des plaques non linéaire attribuée à Berger. Le Chapitre 4 introduit une méthode numérique pour l'approximation des contrôles exactes dans des systèmes d'ordre deux en temps. La deuxième partie de la thèse est dédiée à l'imagerie par résonance magnétique. Plus précisément, on s'intéresse aux méthodes de reconstruction des images pour des objets en mouvement. Dans le Chapitre 6, nous avons formulé la reconstruction d'images cardiaques acquises en respiration libre comme un problème des moments dans un espace de Hilbert à noyau reproductif. L'existence d'une solution pour un tel problème des moments est prouvée par des outils bien connus dans la théorie du contrôle. La connexion entre les deux parties de la thèse est réalisée par le Chapitre 7 où l'on présente le problème inverse d'identification d'un terme source dans l'équation des ondes à partir d'une observation correspondante à un enregistrement IRM.