Radiology, Vol 180, 629-635, Copyright © 1991 by Radiological Society of North America

ARTICLES

T1-weighted sequences for MR imaging of the liver: comparison of three techniques for single-breath, whole-volume acquisition at 1.0 and 1.5 T

RC Semelka, FC Simm, M Recht, M Deimling, G Lenz and GA Laub
Department of Radiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.

The authors compared three T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging techniques that acquire images encompassing the entire liver in one breath hold. Twenty healthy volunteers were imaged--10 at 1.0 T and 10 at 1.5 T--and the results compared with those of regular short repetition time/echo time spin-echo imaging. Rapid acquisition spin echo was resistant to artifacts and had good image quality but had the lowest liver signal-to-noise (S/N) and spleen-liver signal-difference- to-noise (SD/N) values. Fast low-angle shot (FLASH) had the highest S/N and SD/N, very good image quality, and only mild artifacts. TurboFLASH had good S/N and SD/N, but reduced matrix size decreased image quality. All three sequences had better SD/N than regular spin echo, and FLASH and TurboFLASH had higher S/N. On the basis of this study, the FLASH sequence appears the most attractive for T1-weighted breath-hold imaging.

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