Pulseq-Graphical Programming Interface: Open source visual environment for prototyping pulse sequences and integrated magnetic resonance imaging algorithm development

• Published in: Magnetic resonance imaging Vol. 52; pp. 9 - 15
• Main Authors: Ravi, Keerthi Sravan, Potdar, Sneha, Poojar, Pavan, Reddy, Ashok Kumar, Kroboth, Stefan, Nielsen, Jon-Fredrik, Zaitsev, Maxim, Venkatesan, Ramesh, Geethanath, Sairam
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Inc 01.10.2018
• Subjects: Graphical Programming Interface; MR method development tools; Open source pulse sequence design and rapid prototyping; Pulseq; Python Pulseq; Vendor neutral pulse sequence programming tools; Python Pulseq; Open source pulse sequence design and rapid prototyping; Graphical Programming Interface; Vendor neutral pulse sequence programming tools; MR method development tools; Pulseq
• ISSN: 0730-725X; 1873-5894; 1873-5894
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mri.2018.03.008

To provide a single open-source platform for comprehensive MR algorithm development inclusive of simulations, pulse sequence design and deployment, reconstruction, and image analysis. We integrated the “Pulseq” platform for vendor-independent pulse programming with Graphical Programming Interface (GPI), a scientific development environment based on Python. Our integrated platform, Pulseq-GPI, permits sequences to be defined visually and exported to the Pulseq file format for execution on an MR scanner. For comparison, Pulseq files using either MATLAB only (“MATLAB-Pulseq”) or Python only (“Python-Pulseq”) were generated. We demonstrated three fundamental sequences on a 1.5 T scanner. Execution times of the three variants of implementation were compared on two operating systems. In vitro phantom images indicate equivalence with the vendor supplied implementations and MATLAB-Pulseq. The examples demonstrated in this work illustrate the unifying capability of Pulseq-GPI. The execution times of all the three implementations were fast (a few seconds). The software is capable of user-interface based development and/or command line programming. The tool demonstrated here, Pulseq-GPI, integrates the open-source simulation, reconstruction and analysis capabilities of GPI Lab with the pulse sequence design and deployment features of Pulseq. Current and future work includes providing an ISMRMRD interface and incorporating Specific Absorption Ratio and Peripheral Nerve Stimulation computations. •This work implements a comprehensive open source MR algorithm prototyping platform by integrating Pulseq and Graphical Programming Interface (GPI).•This is intended to provide a single, open-source platform for comprehensive MR algorithm design, development, deployment and analysis.•Fundamental sequences of gradient echo, spin echo and spin echo EPI were implemented, deployed to scanner, reconstructed and visualized in Pulseq-GPI.•The code execution times of three variants of Pulseq implementations (MATLAB, Python and Pulseq-GPI) were compared.•Also, the functionalities available in Pulseq-GPI framework and other open source tools were tabulated.