Depiction of Small Vessels in QSM is Influenced by Regularization Parameter in TGV-Regularized Parallel Image Reconstruction

Quantitative susceptibility mapping is a possible modality with which to measure and identify diseases involving small vasculature in the brain. However, multi-echo gradient echo images that are a requirement for high quality quantitative susceptibility map reconstruction require long scan durations, limiting clinical utility. This duration can be reduced with the use of parallel imaging strategies, and non-linear reconstruction with total generalized variation regularization is an increasingly popular strategy for undersampled reconstruction. We demonstrate that the depiction of small vessels and surrounding structures in QSM is significantly sensitive to the choice of regularization parameter used in the reconstruction.