Wave-controlled aliasing in parallel imaging magnetization-prepared gradient echo (wave-CAIPI MPRAGE) accelerates speed for pediatric brain MRI with comparable diagnostic performance

We aimed to compare accelerated post-contrast magnetization-prepared rapid gradient-echo (MPRAGE) using wave-controlled aliasing in parallel imaging (wave-CAIPI) with conventional MPRAGE as a reliable method to diagnose intracranial lesions in pediatric patients. A total of 23 consecutive pediatric patients who underwent post-contrast wave-CAIPI and conventional MPRAGE (scan time: 2 min 39 s vs. 5 min 46 s) were retrospectively evaluated. Two radiologists independently assessed each image for the presence of intracranial lesions. Quantitative [contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), contrast rate (CR), and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)] and qualitative parameters (overall image quality, gray-white matter differentiation, demarcation of basal ganglia and sulci, and motion artifacts) were also surveyed. Wave-CAIPI MPRAGE and conventional MPRAGE detected enhancing and non-enhancing intracranial lesions with 100% agreement. Although wave-CAIPI MPRAGE had a lower SNR (all p < 0.05) and overall image quality (overall analysis, p = 0.02) compared to conventional MPRAGE, other quantitative (CNR and CR) and qualitative parameters (gray-white differentiation, demarcation of basal ganglia and sulci, and motion artifacts) were comparable in the pooled analysis and between both observers (all p > 0.05). Wave-CAIPI MPRAGE was a reliable method for diagnosing intracranial lesions in pediatric patients as conventional MPRAGE at half the scan time.