Premium
Quantitative and qualitative comparison of 1.5 and 3.0 tesla MRI in patients with chronic liver diseases
Author(s) -
Ramalho Miguel,
Herédia Vasco,
Tsurusaki Masakatsu,
Altun Ersan,
Semelka Richard C.
Publication year - 2009
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.21719
Subject(s) - medicine , wilcoxon signed rank test , image quality , nuclear medicine , magnetic resonance imaging , radiology , qualitative analysis , image (mathematics) , artificial intelligence , mann–whitney u test , qualitative research , computer science , social science , sociology
Abstract Purpose To compare the quantitative and qualitative image quality intra‐individually, at 1.5 and 3.0 Tesla (T) in patients with chronic liver diseases. Materials and Methods The study group included 24 consecutive patients (17 males, 7 females; mean age ± standard deviation 56.5 ± 11.5) who had chronic liver diseases and underwent abdominal MRI for the liver evaluation at both 1.5 and 3.0T within a 4‐month period. All MRI studies were retrospectively evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively. Quantitative analysis was performed by measuring signal to noise ratio (SNR) on various abdominal organs. Qualitative analysis was performed by two reviewers to assess image quality, artifacts, and imaging findings of chronic liver diseases. Quantitative and qualitative analyses findings were compared between 1.5 and 3.0T using the paired Student t‐test and Wilcoxon signed rank test, respectively. Results The statistically significant increase in SNRs in various abdominal tissues ranged from 1.3‐ to 3.5‐fold at 3.0T compared to 1.5T. Three‐dimensional gradient echo (3D‐GE) sequences demonstrated significantly higher image quality at 3.0T ( P < 0.01), whereas precontrast spoiled gradient echo (SGE) sequences demonstrated significantly higher image quality at 1.5T ( P < 0.01). T2‐weighted sequences did not show any significant difference in image quality between 1.5 and 3.0T ( P > 0.05). Conclusion The SNRs of various abdominal tissues demonstrated significant increases at 3.0T. The image quality of 3D‐GE sequences was higher at 3.0T, whereas the image quality of precontrast SGE sequences was higher at 1.5T. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2009;29:869–879. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.