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Usefulness of the SPACE pulse sequence at 1.5T MR cholangiography: comparison of image quality and image acquisition
Takeshi Nakaura1, Masafumi Kidoh, Natsuki Maruyama
1Diagnostic Radiology, Amakusa Medical Center, Graduate School of Medical, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan; Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Graduate School of Medical, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
Purpose:
To prospectively evaluate the image quality and image acquisition time at 3D magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) using sampling perfection with application optimized contrasts (SPACE) and conventional turbo-spin-echo (TSE) sequences.
Materials And Methods:
We acquired navigator-triggered SPACE and conventional 3D-TSE MRCP images using the same parameters where possible for 30 patients and compared the image acquisition time, contrast, and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of the common bile duct (CBD). Two radiologists performed qualitative analyses using a 4-point scale.
Results:
Image acquisition time was 31% shorter with the SPACE than the conventional TSE sequence (248.9 ± 73.0 sec vs. 360.5 ± 99.9 sec, P < 0.01). The contrast and CNR was significantly higher with the SPACE technique than conventional TSE (39.4 ± 14.7 vs. 33.5 ± 14.2, P < 0.01 and 18.6 ± 7.8 vs. 15.5 ± 9.3, P = 0.03). All visual scores were higher for the SPACE than the conventional TSE sequence; there was a significant difference in motion artifacts and the depiction of the CBD and the left hepatic and main pancreatic duct (P < 0.05).
Conclusion:
On the 1.5T MR scanner, 3D-MRCP with the SPACE sequence significantly improved the contrast and CNR of CBD. In addition, it yielded images of better quality at 30% shorter acquisition time than constant refocusing pulse flip angle TSE.
