Open AccessDifferential diagnosis of benign and malignant vertebral compression fractures using conventional and advanced MRI techniques
Author(s) -
Valeria Romeo,
Lorenzo Ugga,
Arnaldo Stanzione,
Sirio Cocozza,
Renato Cuocolo,
Arturo Brunetti
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
bjr|open
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2513-9878
DOI - 10.1259/bjro.20180033
Subject(s) - differential diagnosis , radiology , medicine , magnetic resonance imaging , high resolution , focus (optics) , compression (physics) , clinical practice , computer science , pathology , materials science , geology , physics , remote sensing , family medicine , optics , composite material
Atraumatic vertebral compression fractures (VCFs) are commonly encountered in clinical practice and often represent a diagnostic challenge. MRI plays a major role in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant VCFs, due to its high contrast resolution and the possibility to obtain quantitative and functional data with the employment of advanced sequences. Computer-aided diagnosis systems are also applied on MRI images for this purpose, showing promising results. In this setting, aim of this pictorial review is to elucidate the role of MRI in the differential diagnosis of VCFs with a specific focus on advanced and post-processing imaging techniques.