PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - J S Ross
AU  - P Ruggieri
AU  - J Tkach
AU  - N Obuchowski
AU  - J Dillinger
AU  - T J Masaryk
AU  - M T Modic
TI  - Lumbar degenerative disk disease: prospective comparison of conventional T2-weighted spin-echo imaging and T2-weighted rapid acquisition relaxation-enhanced imaging.
DP  - 1993 Sep 01
TA  - American Journal of Neuroradiology
PG  - 1215--1223
VI  - 14
IP  - 5
4099  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/14/5/1215.short
4100  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/14/5/1215.full
SO  - Am. J. Neuroradiol.1993 Sep 01; 14
AB  - PURPOSE To compare conventional T2-weighted spin-echo imaging with a rapid acquisition relaxation enhanced (RARE) technique in the routine evaluation of lumbar degenerative disk disease.METHODS Thirty consecutive patients referred for evaluation of the lumbar spine for suspected degenerative disk disease were evaluated with sagittal and axial T1-weighted spin-echo, conventional T2-weighted spin-echo, and T2-weighted RARE "turbo spin-echo" sequences (4000/93/2 (repetition time/echo time/excitations), 192 x 256, echo train length of 8). Conventional T2-weighted and RARE images were evaluated independently by two neuroradiologists for image quality, presence of artifacts, cerebrospinal fluid signal intensity, extradural interface conspicuity, intradural nerve root conspicuity, soft-tissue detail, and signal intensity of normal and degenerated intervertebral disks.RESULTS Both readers rated the cerebrospinal fluid signal higher, the extradural interface conspicuity higher, and the nerve root detail greater on the turbo spin-echo than on conventional spin-echo images. Neither reader had a significant difference in ranking "normal" or "degenerated" disk signal on the two sequences. Both readers rated soft-tissue detail higher for conventional than for turbo spin-echo.CONCLUSION RARE sequences can replace conventional T2-weighted spin-echo sagittal studies for degenerative lumbar disk disease.