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Objective:
The purpose of this prospective study was to qualitatively and quantitatively compare the image quality and visibility of pancreatic cyst communication with main pancreatic duct (PD) of breath-hold 3D MRCP (BH-CS-MRCP) using compressed sensing versus conventional respiratory-triggered 3D MRCP at 3-T MRI.

Materials and Methods:
A total of 50 patients who underwent both breath-hold compressed sensing 3D MRCP versus conventional respiratory-triggered 3D MRCP. The images were analyzed independently by two radiologists using a 4-point scale to grade overall image quality, artifact, background suppression, nine parts of bile duct and three parts of PD visibility, communication between pancreatic cyst, and main PD. Contrast ratio (CR) between common bile duct (CBD) and periductal tissue, SNR of the CBD, and CNR between CBD and liver were quantitatively measured. The chi-square and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to analyze the different of qualitative and quantitative evaluations between the two MRCP techniques.

Results:
The BH-CS-MRCP technique exhibited significantly fewer artifacts (p = 0.04) and better overall image quality (p = 0.01) in comparison to conventional MRCP. Additionally, BH-CS-MRCP demonstrated superior visualization of the bile duct and PD in the CBD, common hepatic duct (CHD), cystic duct, right main hepatic duct, mid and distal PD (p < 0.0001–0.042), as well as the communication between a cyst and PD (p < 0.0001). However, there was no significant difference in background suppression (p = 0.087). Regarding quantitative analysis, BH-CS-MRCP displayed a higher CR, but lower SNR and CNR compared to conventional MRCP. However, there were no statistical significance (p = 0.21–0.98).

Conclusion:
BH-CS-MRCP had superior overall image quality than conventional respiratory-triggered 3D MRCP and enhanced visualization of pancreatic cyst and PD communication.