Quality Assurance in Preclinical Imaging

QA SNR Protocol

Running a quick hardware check before starting in on your experiment ensures that you will get the most out of every scan. The Bruker QA SNR protocol lets you check that RF coils are performing within specifications and therefore that subject signal will be properly received. Using the protocol with the standardized phantom and corresponding holder that comes with each RF receive coil allows you to compare the recorded SNR with reference values to assure proper coil functioning.

Automatic Adjustments

Correct reference frequency to ensure proper fat suppression and the elimination of spatial shift, accurate reference power, and optimized shims, let ParaVision adjust these parameters for you before you start your study. If desired, for example, after repositioning of the sample, adjustments can be repeated anytime throughout the study by a click of a button, and receiver gain adjustments can be automatically repeated on all protocols to eliminate overflow artifacts. Additionally, sequence specific adjustments such as trajectory measurements or ghost corrections are automatically run during the individual scan adjustments to ensure highest image quality.

Reference Power

To obtain desired image contrast and SNR, accurate flip angle calculation is pivotal. It additionally plays a decisive role in correct quantification. Flip angle calculation is based off of the reference power, which is used to derive the correct power values for all RF pulses. To assure optimal sequence transmission throughout the study, the reference power should be calibrated with each sample change and therefore an integrated reference power adjustment procedure for proton volume coils is located directly within the pre-provided Bruker MRI protocol trees.

             (registration required)

B0 homogeneity and Shim 

A homogeneous B0 field is crucial for all MR imaging, especially for shim-sensitive methods such as spectroscopy and EPI, which is the backbone of many fMRI and diffusion methods, as well as for proper fat-suppression, and for challenging imaging regions such as the abdomen. Bruker provides the Mapshim method for control and optimization of the B0 field.
Spectroscopy shim checks even go beyond the displayed Mapshim maps, automatically measuring the linewidth of the water peak in the investigated voxel(s).
 

RF and Gradient Simulation

Pushing the boundaries of MRI, often means pushing RF and gradient duty cycles. To ensure that settings in self-designed and adjusted protocols can be carried out by the instrument, ParaVision has an integrated gradient as well as an RF duty cycle simulation.

           (registration required)

Remote Monitoring

With the Bruker magnet Monitoring Unit (BMU) and remote monitoring, the Bruker support team can continuously surveil system parameter, optimize maintenance, and report on magnet status, letting you rest assured that your instrument is perfectly ready when you are.

Customers who go beyond

Bruker’s customers take excellent scanning even further with quality controls for imaging experiments. With specializations in various fields, they have spearheaded interest groups to define quality control features for acquired data, considering factors such as anesthesia and motion to allow efficient data assessment for improved reliability and reproducibility.

Machine Learning Tool for Quality Control

Customer paper introducing a machine learning tool for quality control of acquired scans. Taking SNR, temporal SNR, and motion into account, this tool determines outliers, providing researchers with an efficient method for data quality assessment.

This is how rodent fMRI is done -
A community take on functional imaging in animal models

Joanes Grandjean discusses the necessity for standardization in fMRI, starting out by referring to a study that shows 240 ways to perform fMRI, that clearly demonstrates this need.

Ensuring Data Confidence

The PET/CT Si78 and PET Inserts for simultaneous PET/MRI are robust, reliable systems that deliver exceptional performance and efficient workflows. Despite of this, effective and user-friendly quality control procedures are essential to ensure confidence in your data, whether in the planning stages of your experiments or just before scanning.

Comprehensive Quality Control for PET Detector Hardware 

Quality control procedures comprehensively evaluate PET detector hardware performance and key image metrics like noise level and quantification accuracy. All QC results are automatically saved in the ParaVision data folder, ensuring they remain traceable and easily accessible.

Streamlined Daily Quality Control 

The daily quality control procedure is streamlined, taking less than five minutes from fetching the NEMA-compliant sealed point source from the laboratory safe to presenting results. No need to contact your radio pharmacy supplier.

Efficient Advanced Quality Controls

Advanced quality controls, which include detailed assessments of image quality and quantification accuracy, require only a few mouse clicks. These controls utilize a specialized phantom with a dedicated holder for precise positioning within the FOV, along with fully automated scanning protocols to generate results efficiently.