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Image quality and focal lesion detection on T2‐weighted MR imaging of the liver: Comparison of two high‐resolution free‐breathing imaging techniques with two breath‐hold imaging techniques
Author(s) -
Lee Seung Soo,
Byun Jae Ho,
Hong HyeSuk,
Park Seong Ho,
Won Hyung Jin,
Shin Yong Moon,
Lee MoonGyu
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of magnetic resonance imaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.563
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1522-2586
pISSN - 1053-1807
DOI - 10.1002/jmri.21002
Subject(s) - medicine , nuclear medicine , image quality , receiver operating characteristic , t2 weighted , radiology , breathing , magnetic resonance imaging , computer science , artificial intelligence , image (mathematics) , anatomy
Purpose To evaluate image quality and accuracy for the detection of focal hepatic lesions depicted on T2‐weighted images obtained with two high‐resolution free‐breathing techniques (navigator‐triggered turbo spin‐echo [TSE] and respiratory‐triggered TSE) and two standard‐resolution breath‐hold techniques (breath‐hold TSE with restore pulse and half‐Fourier acquisition single‐shot TSE [HASTE]). Materials and Methods Our institutional review board approved this study, and written informed consent was obtained from all patients. Two readers independently reviewed 200 T2‐weighted imaging sets obtained with four sequences in 50 patients. Both readers identified all focal lesions in session 1 and only solid lesions in session 2. The readers' confidence was graded using a scale of 1–4 (1 ≤ 50%; 4 ≥ 95%). The diagnostic accuracies of the four MR sequences were evaluated using the free‐response receiver operating characteristic (ROC) method. Region‐of‐interest (ROI) measurements were performed for the mean signal intensity (SI) in the liver, spleen, hepatic lesions, and background noise. Results The accuracy of navigator‐triggered TSE and respiratory‐triggered TSE was superior to that of breath‐hold TSE with restore pulse and HASTE for the detection of all focal or solid hepatic lesions. The mean lesion‐to‐liver contrast‐to‐noise ratio (CNR) of solid lesions in navigator‐triggered ( P < 0.001) and respiratory‐triggered TSE ( P < 0.005) was significantly higher than that in HASTE. Conclusion High‐resolution, free‐breathing, T2‐weighted MRI techniques can significantly improve the detectability of focal hepatic lesions and provide higher lesion‐to‐liver contrast of solid lesions compared to breath‐hold techniques. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.