Background: To assess the potential of T2 reversed (T2R) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the pre-operative histopathological assessment of meningiomas.
Method: Twenty patients scheduled for meningioma resection were prospectively assessed using T2R MRI on a 3 tesla system. Image characteristics were compared with intra-operative findings and post-operative histopathological examination of excised meningioma tissues.
Findings: The averaged T2 characteristics expressed as averaged gray scale levels of the tumour correlated highly with tumour consistency, in agreement with previous reports. Furthermore, detailed evaluation of the structural appearance of tumour on T2R images revealed brightness of tumour (shorter T2) was dependent on the degree of histopathological heterogeneity. Significantly shorter T2 value correlated with collagen-rich fibrous tissue.
Interpretation: The study demonstrated the advantage of T2R imaging in pre-operative determination of histopathological characteristics of meningiomas. As a step towards MR microscopy and improved pre-operative treatment planning, T2R imaging on a 3.0 T system appears to play an important role in the non-invasive pre-operative structural assessment of a tissue of interest.