Motion Detection in Neonatal MR Fingerprinting: Enhancing Reliability in T1 and T2 values

Motivation: Motion artifact of MR Fingerprinting (MRF) cannot be recognized visually, but it affects quantitative values severely. Goal(s): We aimed to assess the impact of motion in MRF and propose an objective motion-detection method. Approach: We utilized Spatiotemporal Residuals (STR) from MRF-acquired signals and compared them with motion assessments in neonatal clinical practice. Results: Our results revealed that motion significantly affects the accuracy of both T1 and T2 values. By applying an appropriate threshold to the standard deviation of STR, we achieved highly accurate motion detection equivalent to expert visual judgment, which leads to robust accuracy of quantitative values. Impact: Our method to detect motion from MRF signals enables an objective assessment of the presence or absence of motion in MRF data. Consequently, this method facilitates the evaluation of the reliability of quantitative MRF images in clinical settings.