Value of FLAIR pulse sequence in low-field MR in the diagnosis of acute myelitis

Abstract

Objective To study the clinical diagnostic value of fluid-attenuated inversion recovery(HAIR)pulse sequence in low-field MR for the acute myelitis.Methods Fifty-two healthy controls and 33 patients with acute myelitis were imaged with TIWI,T2WI and FLAIR imaging in a 0.5T superconducting MR SCalHler,and among them,23 patients were imaged with TlMI after the injection of Gd-DTPA.The detectable abilities of lesions with FLAIR and TSE-T2W1 were compared.Results The FLAIR imaging showed 33 lesions(100%),but the TSE-T2WI only showed 23 lesions (69.7%)inthe 33 cases;32 lesions were clear with FLAIR in demonstrating the border of lesions,and 13 lesions with TSE-T2WI Therefore,the FLAIR sequence were superior to TSE-T2WI in demonstrating the border of lesions and displaying the lesions(P<0.01).Conclusion FLAIR is a very useful sequence in the low-field MR for the acute myelitis.and it should be used as a routine diagnostic method for the acute myelitis. Key words: Magnetic resonance imaging; Fluid-attenuated inversion recovery technique; Acute myelitis