Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 6, 2026
Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Skeletal Muscle Disease
Published on: December 18, 2016
Value of fat-suppressed proton-density-weighted turbo spin-echo sequences in detecting meniscal lesions: comparison
F K W Schäfer1, P J Schäfer, J Brossmann
1Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Christian-Albrechts-Universitaet Kiel, Arnold-Heller-Strasse 9, D-24105 Kiel, Germany. fschaefer@uni-kiel-de
Purpose:
To evaluate fat-suppressed (FS) proton-density-weighted (PDw) turbo spin-echo (TSE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) compared to arthroscopy in the detection of meniscal lesions.
Material And Methods:
In a prospective study, 31 knee joints were imaged on a 1.5T MR scanner before arthroscopy using the following sequences: (a) coronal and sagittal FS-PDw TSE (TR/TE: 4009/15 ms); (b) coronal T1w SE (TR/TE: 722/20 ms), and sagittal PDw TSE (TR/TE: 3800/15 ms). Other imaging parameters were: slice thickness 3 mm, FOV 160 mm, matrix 256 x 256. A total of 186 meniscal regions (62 menisci; anterior horn, body, posterior horn) were evaluated. Standard of reference was arthroscopy. Sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value (npv), positive predictive value (ppv), and accuracy were calculated.
Results:
Arthroscopically, meniscal lesions were detected in 55/186 segments (35 medial and 20 lateral meniscal lesions). Sensitivity, specificity, npv, ppv, and accuracy for combination of coronal and sagittal FS PDw TSE were 91.4%, 98.3%, 95%, 97%, and 93.5% for the medial meniscus, and 90%, 98.6%, 97.3%, 94.7%, and 96.8% for the lateral. The results were comparable to the combination of coronal T1w SE and sagittal PDw TSE for the medial (88.6%, 98.3%, 93.4%, 96.9%, 91.4%) and the lateral (90%, 95.9%, 97.2%, 85.7%, 92.5%) meniscus.
Conclusion:
FS PDw TSE-MR sequences are an excellent alternative for the detection of meniscal lesions in comparison with diagnostic arthroscopy.
