Abdominal Imaging at 0.05 T Using Golden-angle Radial Sampling

Motivation: Subject physiological motions create artifacts in abdominal MRI, which can prevent identification of anatomical structures and lead to suboptimal diagnostic efficacy. Goal(s): To demonstrate the feasibility of free-breathing abdominal MRI on a low-cost and shielding-free 0.05T whole-body MRI scanner. Approach: 3D stack-of-star golden-angle radial sampling was implemented on a newly developed 0.05T whole-body MRI scanner. Typical abdominal and lung imaging were performed on healthy volunteers. The results were compared to those obtained using 3D cartesian sampling. Results: 3D stack-of-star golden-angle radial sampling exhibited less sensitivity to subject motions, resulting in improved image quality compared with 3D cartesian sampling. Impact: We demonstrate the feasibility of free-breathing abdominal MRI at 0.05T, potentially offering a low-cost, simplified and patient-friendly approach to visualize tissues and organs. The developments will facilitate ultra-low-field MRI in truly accessible and point-of-care clinical applications.