Comparison of conventional spin-echo and fast spin-echo magnetic resonance imaging in the canine brain

T2-weighted fast spin echo and conventional spin echo are two magnetic resonance (MR) pulse sequences used to image the brain. Given the same scan parameters the resolution of fast spin-echo images will be inferior to that of conventional spin-echo images. However, fast spin-echo images can be acquired in a shorter time allowing scan parameters to be optimized for increased resolution without increasing the time to an unacceptable level. MR imaging of the brain of 54 dogs, suspected of having parenchymal brain abnormalities was performed using a 1.5 T scanner. Acquisition time ranged from 4 min 24 s to 7 min 16 s (average = 5 min 15 s) for fast spin-echo scans and from 6 min 32 s to 11 min 26s (average = 7 min 55s) for conventional spin-echo scans. All reviewers consistently rated the resolution of fast spin-echo images higher than the conventional spin-echo images (P = 0.000). The potential disadvantages of fast spin-echo acquisitions (motion artifacts, blurring, and increased hyperintensity of fat) did not affect the resolution of the images. Fast spin echo offers increased resolution in a comparable time to conventional spin echo by increased number of excitations and finer matrix size, thus improving the signal-to-noise ratio and spatial resolution, respectively.