Washington, May 5 : An improved algorithm can dramatically improve how radiologists capture and interpret full-body MRIs, particularly in the abdominal region.

Patient movement during an MRI may obscure clinical information, says study co-author Candice Bookwalter, from Medical Centre, Case Western Reserve University.

"Almost every acquisition during an MR abdominal exam requires a breath hold to limit motion. For example, a routine liver exam includes at least nine breath holds.

"Even with fast imaging techniques, these breath holds are often long and difficult for patients, and failed breath holds are almost always identified only after image acquisition," Bookwalter says, according to a Case Western statement.

She and her team developed the Motion Artifact Removal by Retrospective Resolution Reduction (MARs) algorithm to identify the transition between a breath hold and free breathing to allow for better retrospective reviews of the image and to reduce additional imaging.

Bookwalter says: "MARs detected and removed motion corrupted data automatically in our volunteers and patients, which improved the overall image quality."

Bookwalter presented these findings at the American Roentgen Ray Society annual meeting in Chicago.(IANS)