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Usefulness of the SPACE pulse sequence at 1.5T MR cholangiography: Comparison of image quality and image acquisition time with conventional 3D‐TSE sequence
Author(s) -
Nakaura Takeshi,
Kidoh Masafumi,
Maruyama Natsuki,
Kawahara Tetsuya,
Namimoto Tomohiro,
Sakai Yoshinari,
Harada Kazunori,
Yamashita Yasuyuki
Publication year - 2013
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.24033
Subject(s) - image quality , flip angle , k space , fast spin echo , nuclear medicine , pulse sequence , scanner , magnetic resonance imaging , magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography , medicine , radiology , computer science , artificial intelligence , image (mathematics) , pancreatitis , endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography , surgery
Purpose To prospectively evaluate the image quality and image acquisition time at 3D magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) using sampling perfection with application optimized contrasts (SPACE) and conventional turbo‐spin‐echo (TSE) sequences. Materials and Methods We acquired navigator‐triggered SPACE and conventional 3D‐TSE MRCP images using the same parameters where possible for 30 patients and compared the image acquisition time, contrast, and contrast‐to‐noise ratio (CNR) of the common bile duct (CBD). Two radiologists performed qualitative analyses using a 4‐point scale. Results Image acquisition time was 31% shorter with the SPACE than the conventional TSE sequence (248.9 ± 73.0 sec vs. 360.5 ± 99.9 sec, P < 0.01). The contrast and CNR was significantly higher with the SPACE technique than conventional TSE (39.4 ± 14.7 vs. 33.5 ± 14.2, P < 0.01 and 18.6 ± 7.8 vs. 15.5 ± 9.3, P = 0.03). All visual scores were higher for the SPACE than the conventional TSE sequence; there was a significant difference in motion artifacts and the depiction of the CBD and the left hepatic and main pancreatic duct ( P < 0.05). Conclusion On the 1.5T MR scanner, 3D‐MRCP with the SPACE sequence significantly improved the contrast and CNR of CBD. In addition, it yielded images of better quality at 30% shorter acquisition time than constant refocusing pulse flip angle TSE. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2013;38:1014–1019. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.