Systematical Radiologic Comparison of 3D-T2W MR Sequences for Cranial Nerve Imaging at 3 T

Abstract

Background and Purpose: With the technology of magnetic resonance improving, more intricate details of the intracranial anatomy can be visualized. We investigated the visibility and anatomic features of the normal cranial nerves, using high-resolution 3D-SPACE imaging. Materials and Methods: The subjects, 24 healthy volunteers without neurological diseases, all underwent magnetic resonance examination at 3 T using a 32-channel coil to visualize the cisternal segments of the cranial nerves. Two different sequences were used including: conventional 3D-TSE (voxel size, 0.7×0.7×0.7 mm) and 3D-SPACE (voxel size, 0.7×0.7×0.7 mm). The visibilities of the cranial nerves were graded as “distinct,” “probable,” and “blurred” using a qualitative scale of certainty; the Fisher exact χ2 test was used. Results: The display rates on the 3D-SPACE images were 85.41% for IV, 87.50% for IX, 79.16% for X, 72.91% for XI, and 68.75% for XII, compared with display rates of 43.75% for IV, 66.66% for IX, 33.33% for X, 45.83% for XI, and 39.58% for XII on the 3D-TSE images. No statistical difference was observed between the 2 sequences in the detection of some cranial nerves including II, III, V, VI, VII, and VIII (P>0.05). However, there was statistically significant difference in detection of other cranial nerves including IV, IX, X, XI, and XII (P<0.05). For these cranial nerves, their origins and paths were displayed more clearly by the 3D-SPACE sequence. Conclusions: The 3D-SPACE sequence combined with a 32-channel coil demonstrated the cisternal segments of the cranial nerves suitability within acceptable scan times.