[MR imaging of cervical disc disease: value GRASS imaging]

Since magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology has been greatly improved, MRI for cervical disc disease has become widely used in many facilities. Among non-invasive procedures, MRI is regarded as one of the most useful ones. Conventional myelography, CT myelography, and MRI were performed on 10 patients with cervical disc disease. The authors discussed the correlation between conventional myelography, CT myelography, and MRI as regards their ability to determine the localization and the laterality of disc protrusion and osteophyte. In our MRI study, we use both short-echo (SE) images and GRASS images. The parameters of our GRASS included 5mm-thick sections. TR = 200, TE = 20, and flip angles of 10 degrees. This pulse sequence generates images with high signal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), resulting in a high-contrast CSF-spinal cord, osteophyte, and disc protrusion. As yet, although it easily shows the localization and laterality of the disc and/or osteophyte, image quality of the GRASS is not yet sufficient to allow us to evaluate detailed deformity of the spinal cord and nerve root. The authors stress the usefulness of this GRASS image for the evaluation of suspected cervical disc disease.