Feasibility of pulmonary MRI for nodule detection in comparison to computed tomography

Nan Yu,Guangming Ma,Yong Yu,Zhanli Ren,Chuangbo Yang,Shan Dang,Shaoyu Wang

doi:10.1186/s12880-020-00451-w

Abstract

BackgroundTo assess the feasibility of various magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences for the detection of pulmonary nodules by comparing the detection rate of computed tomography (CT).MethodsForty-two patients with pulmonary nodules detected by multi-slice CT (MSCT) were prospectively enrolled in the present study between November 2016 and February 2017. Chest MRI was acquired within 24 h of CT. The MRI protocol included free-breathing radial VIBE (r-VIBE) and a conventional breathhold T1-weighted VIBE (C-VIBE) were analyzed by two independent radiologists. Both detection and morphology results of each MRI image were recorded. Subjective image evaluation in terms of overall nodule morphology on the MRI images was carried out using the 4-point scoring criteria. The MRI results were compared with those from CT, with the results of MSCT serving as the reference standard.ResultsTwo hundred and fifty-eight solid pulmonary nodules in 42 patients were detected by CT. The r-VIBE correctly detected 94% of the pulmonary nodules as compared with CT. The detection rate increased to 100% for lesions ≥6 mm. The C-VIBE had a lower overall detection rate (64.3%) of pulmonary nodules. The difference in the subjective image evaluation scores between the two sequences was statistically significant (p < 0.001).ConclusionSignificantly increased detection rates were obtained with free-breathing r-VIBE as compared with C-VIBE for the detection of pulmonary nodules and also provided more information when evaluating the nodules as compared with C-VIBE.

Highlights

To assess the feasibility of various magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences for the detection of pulmonary nodules by comparing the detection rate of computed tomography (CT)
T1-weighted gradient echo sequences with volume volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination (T1 gradient recall echo (GRE) VIBE) have been shown to allow for motion-free imaging
The present study demonstrates the feasibility of the rVIBE sequence as an alternative imaging technique for the detection of pulmonary nodules with high sensitivity and low false-positive rates

Summary

Introduction

To assess the feasibility of various magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences for the detection of pulmonary nodules by comparing the detection rate of computed tomography (CT). Yu et al BMC Medical Imaging (2020) 20:53 during a single breath-hold This sequence requires patients to hold their breath effectively, since respiratory motion artifacts can affect the evaluation of pulmonary nodules. The recently developed freebreathing radial VIBE (r-VIBE) sequence is reported to be less sensitive to motion as compared with the breath-hold Cartesian acquisition scheme in the conventional VIBE (C-VIBE) sequence. It can provide high-resolution images and is described as a valuable T1-weighted gradient-echo sequence for abdominal MRI in the examination of patients who are unable to hold their breath [12,13,14,15,16,17]. Here, we assessed the role of r-VIBE in the detection of pulmonary nodules in comparison with breath-hold CVIBE and MSCT

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion