Improved fat-suppression homogeneity with mDIXON turbo spin echo (TSE) in pediatric spine imaging at 3.0 T

Amber L. Pokorney, Jonathan M. Chia, Cory M. Pfeifer, Jeffrey H. Miller, Houchun H. Hu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background Robust fat suppression remains essential in clinical MRI to improve tissue signal contrast, minimize fat-related artifacts, and enhance image quality. Purpose To compare fat suppression between mDIXON turbo spin echo (TSE) and conventional frequency-selective and inversion-recovery methods in pediatric spine MRI. Material and Methods Images from T1-weighted (T1W) and T2-weighted (T2W) TSE sequences coupled with conventional methods and the mDIXON technique were compared in 36 patients (5.8 ± 5.4 years) at 3.0 T. Images from 42 pairs of T1W (n = 16) and T2W (n = 26) scans were acquired. Two radiologists reviewed the data and rated images using a three-point scale in two categories, including the uniformity of fat suppression and overall diagnostic image quality. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used to compare the scores. Results The Cohen's kappa coefficient for inter-rater agreement was 0.69 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.56-0.83). Images from mDIXON TSE were considered superior in fat suppression (P < 0.01) in 22 (rater 1) and 25 (rater 2) cases, respectively. In 13 (rater 1) and 11 (rater 2) cases, mDIXON TSE demonstrated improved diagnostic image quality (P < 0.01). In three cases, fat suppression was superior using inversion-recovery and likewise in one case mDIXON had poorer image diagnostic quality. Lastly, mDIXON and conventional fat-suppression methods performed similarly in 17 (rater 1) and 14 (rater 2) cases, and yielded equal diagnostic image quality in 28 (rater 1) and 30 (rater 2) cases. Conclusion Robust fat suppression can be achieved with mDixon TSE pediatric spine imaging at 3.0 T and should be considered as a permanent replacement of traditional methods, in particular frequency-selective techniques.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1386-1394
Number of pages9
JournalActa Radiologica
Volume58
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 1 2017

Keywords

  • Turbo spin echo (TSE)
  • chemical-shift-encoded magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
  • fat suppression
  • pediatrics
  • spine
  • water-fat separation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Radiological and Ultrasound Technology
  • Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging

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