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• Technical Article •
Comparison of respiratory triggering and navigator triggering on image quality and scan efficiency of upper-abdominal T2-weighted imaging with fat saturation under the BioMatrix system
HAN Linmei  DU Taoming 

Cite this article as: HAN L M, DU T M. Comparison of respiratory triggering and navigator triggering on image quality and scan efficiency of upper-abdominal T2-weighted imaging with fat saturation under the BioMatrix system[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2026, 17(4): 95-100, 148. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.04.013.


[Abstract] Objective To compare the impact of respiratory triggering under BioMatrix (RT-BM) versus navigator triggering (NT) on image quality and scan efficiency of upper-abdominal T2-weighted fat-suppressed (T2WI FS) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) under the BioMatrix platform, and to provide evidence for protocol optimization.Materials and Methods One hundred consecutive patients (52 males, 48 females) scheduled for upper-abdominal MRI between June and November 2025 were prospectively enrolled. All examinations were performed on a Siemens 3.0 T Magnetom VIDA system; T2WI FS was acquired first with NT and then repeated with RT-BM. Scan duration, standard deviation (SD), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were recorded. Two senior radiologists independently graded image quality using a 5-point Likert scale evaluating hepatic edge sharpness, intrahepatic vessel depiction, gallbladder and extrahepatic bile duct definition, pancreatic duct visibility, motion artifacts and overall image quality. Detection for lesions ≤ 1 cm were documented. Statistical analysis of SD, SNR and CNR was performed using the Mann-Whitney U test. Subjective scoring consistency was assessed using intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) consistency tests, scanning time and score differences between the two sequences were analyzed using paired t-tests, the detection and classification of minor lesions were performed using Bowker's matched chi-square test, and interlayer dislocation control comparison using McNemar test.Results RT-BM shortened scan time by 31.32% compared with NT (average shortened 94.3 s, P < 0.001). No significant differences were observed between groups for SD, SNR or CNR (P > 0.05). NT achieved higher subjective scores than RT-BM for hepatic edge sharpness, vessel depiction, motion-artifact control and overall image quality (P < 0.05), whereas gallbladder, extrahepatic bile duct and pancreatic duct visualisation were equivalent (P > 0.05). Both techniques fulfilled diagnostic requirements in every dimension. The detection rate of microlesions (NT 99.5% vs. RT-BM 96.4%) and the consistency rate of signal intensity four-category classification (undetectable/low/slightly high/high signal) (95.9%) showed no statistically significant differences between the two groups (Bowker test, χ2 = 5.333, P = 0.502). Inter-slice misregistration was comparable between groups (χ2 = 0.000, P > 0.999).Conclusions RT-BM can significantly reduce scanning time while maintaining comparable objective image quality and diagnostic efficacy to NT. Although the subjective score is slightly lower than NT, it still fully meets diagnostic requirements. For patients with poor breath-holding cooperation or those requiring shortened examination time, RT-BM can serve as an alternative solution while ensuring objective image quality and diagnostic efficacy.
[Keywords] magnetic resonance imaging；T2 weighted imaging；respiratory triggering；navigator triggering；upper-abdominal；fat saturation

HAN Linmei   DU Taoming*  

Department of Radiology, NO.7 People′s Hospital of Chengdu, Chengdu 610000, China

Corresponding author: DU T M, E-mail: dtm0528@sina.com

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2025-12-16
Accepted  2026-03-05
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.04.013
Cite this article as: HAN L M, DU T M. Comparison of respiratory triggering and navigator triggering on image quality and scan efficiency of upper-abdominal T2-weighted imaging with fat saturation under the BioMatrix system[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2026, 17(4): 95-100, 148. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.04.013.

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