Selective versus nonselective preparation pulses in two-dimensional MP-RAGE imaging of the liver

The use of a section-selective preparation pulse in two-dimensional (2D) T1-weighted magnetization-prepared rapid gradient-echo (MP-RAGE) imaging of the liver was investigated. The images were compared with those obtained with a nonselective pulse. The performances of the sequences were evaluated in 11 patients with 12 focal liver lesions, and lesion-liver and lesion-vessel signal difference-to-noise ratios (SD/Ns) were calculated. With the section-selective preparation pulse, small lesions were better differentiated from vessels, and multiple, consecutive images could be obtained at shorter intervals. The mean lesion-liver SD/N was slightly but not significantly greater for images obtained with a selective pulse, while the lesion-vessel SD/N was significantly greater (P less than .01). It is concluded that a section-selective preparation pulse can improve the clinical utility of the 2D MP-RAGE sequence in the evaluation of focal liver disease.