Abstract
Objective: To evaluate T2-weighted BLADE tecnique for evaluating intra-abdominal organs and lesions, especially the gastrointestinal wall and pathologies, and to compare the findings with HASTE. Material and Methods: Sixty patients (mean age: 47.2 years, range 19-88) (32 males, 28 females) referred to our institution for upper abdominal Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) examinations with various indications between January 2015 and May 2015 were included in our study. All examinations were performed on a 1.5 Tesla MR device and no anti-peristaltic drug was administered. Images were retrospectively and independently evaluated by two radiologists. A qualitative evaluation was performed to assess images regarding the presence of artifacts and diagnostic quality, the anatomical detail of the upper abdominal organs and structures (contour sharpness, contrast of tissue, parenchyma and internal wall structure) and any present pathologies and lesions in the organs (lesion contour sharpness and size, internal structure properties, morphological characteristics). A quantitative evaluation was performed to calculate the contrast-to-muscle ratios (CMR) of the internal organs and lesions. The distribution of the variables was statistically checked by Kolmogorov Smirnov test. Paired-samples t- test was used for quantitative data. Results: BLADE was significantly associated with reduced artifacts (p <0.0001) and increased image quality compared with HASTE. The highest agreement between both observers was that motion artifacts were reduced (Gwet's AC2 = 0.94). In addition, observers agreed that the parenchymal structure of the upper abdominal solid organs and the anatomic details of the stomach wall structure were better with BLADE (Gwet's AC2 = 0.87). In most cases, both observers preferred BLADE (p <0.0001) for evaluating images and lesion morphology. Conclusion: In upper abdominal MRI examination, artifacts, especially movement artifacts, were significantly reduced by BLADE, yielding more valuable data for the evaluation of the gastrointestinal system wall structure and its pathologies, especially considering the organs near to the diaphragm and retroperitoneal organs as well as vascular structures.
Highlights
In routine clinical practice, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is highly promising for verifying lesions that are not accurately diagnosed by other radiological methods, especially ultrasonography [1,2,3,4]
Qualitative Assessment When the BLADE sequence was used for evaluation of the presence of artifacts in the first study, the artifacts were significantly reduced compared with the HASTE sequence (p
Figure 2а - The contour of the hepatocellular carcinoma compliant lesion located on the anterior segment of the right liver is more clearly visualized with the BLADE sequence compared with the HASTE
Summary
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is highly promising for verifying lesions that are not accurately diagnosed by other radiological methods, especially ultrasonography [1,2,3,4]. T2-weighted imaging with contrast is understood to be an extremely important sequence for diagnostic information but is often be marred by motion artifacts [1,2]. Turbo spin echo (TSE) imaging methods are increasingly popular for abdominal MRI as they use a shortened scanner time but yield high T2-weighted contrast [1,2,3]. The Periodically Rotated Overlapping Parallel Lines with Enhanced Reconstruction (PROPELLER) technique has shown to be highly valuable It compensates for in-plane rotation and in-plane translation as regards motion immunity and yields excellent T2-weighted contrast when implemented as a TSE sequence [5,7]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
