2012 Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 17-26
Purpose: In magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, BLADE is used to compensate for head motion. The technique focuses mainly on acquisition of T2-weighted or contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images in adults; its utility for nonenhanced T1-weighted imaging in children is not well established. We compared the quality of T1-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery brain imaging with BLADE (T1-FLAIR-BLADE) to that of conventional spin-echo T1-weighted imaging (T1-SE) in pediatric patients who cannot stay still during MR imaging.
Materials and Methods: Our investigation included a volunteer study and a retrospective clinical study. Six healthy adult volunteers underwent scanning to compare the contrast of T1-SE, T1-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery imaging (T1-FLAIR), and T1-FLAIR-BLADE at both 1.5 and 3 tesla. Comparison was based on scores assigned independently by 2 blinded observers and by calculated contrast-to-noise ratio. The clinical study included 20 children who underwent both T1-SE and T1-FLAIR-BLADE at either 1.5 (n=9) or 3 T (n=11). On each sequence, 2 blinded observers independently scored visualization of the cerebral gyri and contrast between gray and white matter. We compared scores between sequences separately for 1.5 and 3T using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests.
Results: At both 1.5 and 3T, contrast was better using T1-FLAIR and T1-FLAIR-BLADE than T1-SE in volunteers, and overall scores were significantly higher with T1-FLAIR-BLADE (P<0.05) than T1-SE in the clinical study.
Conclusion: T1-FLAIR-BLADE may be superior to T1-SE in demonstrating brain structures in children who cannot stay still and may be used to supplement or replace T1-SE when T1-SE is insufficient for patient motion.
