American Journal of Neuroradiology, Vol 18, Issue 3 447-454, Copyright © 1997 by American Society of Neuroradiology
ARTICLES |
MR of the spine with a fast T1-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery sequence
ER Melhem, DA Israel, S Eustace and H Jara
Department of Radiology, Boston University Medical Center, MA 02118, USA.
PURPOSE: To optimize a T1-weighted fast fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) sequence using computer-simulated data and to study its clinical utility for imaging the spine. METHODS: Relative signal intensities and contrast of relevant normal and pathologic tissues in the spine were computed using an inversion recovery equation modified to account for a hybrid RARE (rapid acquisition with relaxation enhancement) readout. A range of inversion time (TI) and repetition time (TR) pairs that null the signal from CSF was generated. A contrast- optimized heavily T1-weighted fast FLAIR sequence, based on the generated data, was qualitatively compared with conventional T1- weighted spin-echo sequences for imaging various spinal abnormalities. RESULTS: A T1/TR pair of approximately 862/2000 was extracted from the computer-generated data to produce effective nulling of CSF signal, to achieve heavy T1 weighting, and to optimize contrast between abnormal tissues and cord/bone marrow. Clinical implementation of the optimized T1-weighted fast FLAIR sequence revealed superior contrast at the CSF- cord interface, better conspicuity of lesions of the spinal cord and bone marrow, and reduced hardware-related artifacts as compared with conventional T1-weighted spin-echo sequences. CONCLUSION: The optimized T1-weighted fast FLAIR technique has definite advantages over spin-echo sequences for imaging the spine. Comparable acquisition times render the FLAIR sequence the method of choice for T1-weighted imaging of the spine.
This article has been cited by other articles:
 |
|
 |
|
  A. H. Poonawalla, P. Hou, F. A. Nelson, J. S. Wolinsky, and P. A. Narayana Cervical Spinal Cord Lesions in Multiple Sclerosis: T1-weighted Inversion-Recovery MR Imaging with Phase-Sensitive Reconstruction Radiology, December 1, 2007; 246(1): 258 - 264. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|