Introduction: An analytical method is presented to determine the temporal resolution and dynamic scan duration necessary in the Gd-enhanced dynamic breast MR imaging without compromising the diagnostic efficacy of dynamic images. Methods: The Gd-enhanced signal time curves of various temporal resolutions and scan durations are simulated by manipulating existing patient data. The simulated time curves are fitted by a two-compartment pharmacokinetic model to determine K21 and wash-out slope parameters. The diagnostic efficacy of dynamic images with reduced temporal resolutions and shorter scan durations is tested by ROC analyses of K21 and wash-out slope parameters from simulated time curves. Results: The results suggest that temporal resolution of a few seconds is most desirable and the scan duration is not critical to the diagnostic efficacy of dynamic scan using K21 and wash-out slope if the dynamic scan is long enough to observe the Gd uptake period. However, the fitting for the wash-out slope becomes unstable in short time series. This presents a potential problem in pixel-by-pixel fitting to obtain parametric images using dynamic data of short scans. Conclusions: The analysis presented here can be used to guide researchers in a choice of optimized scan strategy.
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