High-Resolution Diffusion-Weighted MR Imaging of the Human Lumbosacral Plexus and Its Branches Based on a Steady-State Free Precession Imaging Technique at 3T

Z.W Zhang,Z.P Li,B.N Luo,L.J Song,Z Pei,Y.H Yang,Q.F Meng

doi:10.3174/ajnr.a0994

Abstract

3D diffusion-weighted steady-state free precession imaging (3D DW-SSFP) with isotropic resolution was performed to delineate structures of the human lumbosacral plexus (LSP). 3D DW-SSFP clearly revealed detailed anatomy of the LSP and its branches. Our data suggest that the sequence based on 3D DW-SSFP can be used for high-resolution MR imaging of the peripheral nervous system.

Highlights

MR imaging evaluation of the normal peripheral nerve anatomy and diseases is mainly dependent on 2D MR imaging techniques, including T1-weighted spin-echo, T2weighted fast spin-echo, and inversion-recovery sequences with fat saturation.[1,2,3,4,5,6,7] these techniques can produce excellent-quality images, they have limitations in describing deliberate orientations of the targeted nerves, in that section gaps in these techniques lead to lower anatomic coverage and less quantitative information
The purpose of this study is to describe a high-spatial-resolution 3D diffusion-weighted steady-state free precession (3D DW-SSFP) sequence and prospectively evaluate its feasibility in human lumbosacral plexus (LSP) imaging at 3T
The study protocol was approved by the local ethics committee and the review board of our department, and informed consent was obtained from all subjects before MR imaging examination

Summary

Introduction

MR imaging evaluation of the normal peripheral nerve anatomy and diseases is mainly dependent on 2D MR imaging techniques, including T1-weighted spin-echo, T2weighted fast spin-echo, and inversion-recovery sequences with fat saturation.[1,2,3,4,5,6,7] these techniques can produce excellent-quality images, they have limitations in describing deliberate orientations of the targeted nerves, in that section gaps in these techniques lead to lower anatomic coverage and less quantitative information. T2-weighted spin-echo techniques cannot image smaller nerves in the periphery because the nerves cannot be distinguished from blood vessels on T2-weighted spin-echo images.[8] A combination of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) with fat-suppressed T2-weighted sequences has been proposed to overcome these technical limitations. DWI based on spin-echo with an echo-planar readout has been used to evaluate the anatomy of the peripheral nervous system.[9,10] these conventional techniques have limited spatial resolution or low signal-to-noise ratio and often produce severe image distortion.[8,11]

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Conclusion