Variable-flip-angle spin-echo MR imaging of the pelvis: more versatile T2-weighted images

Dependence on T1 contrast can be reduced by changing the excitation flip angle. The authors compared T2-weighted spin-echo images (with 30 degrees and 90 degrees flip angles) of the male and female pelvis in 22 individuals. In six women imaged with a 1,000/80 sequence (repetition time msec/echo time msec), signal difference-to-noise ratios (SD/Ns) were higher with a 30 degree flip angle than with a 90 degree angle for urine/fat (mean, 15.2 vs -6.2; P less than .05) and endometrium/myometrium (13.8 vs 9.0, P less than .05). In eight additional examinations, a 1,000/80 sequence with a 30 degree flip angle and two signal averages had less motion artifact (1.2 vs 2.7, P less than .01) than a 2,000/80 sequence with a 90 degree angle and one signal average (4.5 minutes each); SD/Ns were similar. In a third series of experiments, contiguous sections without cross talk, obtained by interleaving two 1,000/100, 30 degrees-flip-angle acquisitions, had better contrast than contiguous sections obtained at 2,400/100 with a 90 degree flip angle (10 minutes each), with SD/Ns of urine/fat of 28.5 versus 16.1 (P less than .01) and SD/Ns of endometrium/myometrium of 15.5 versus 7.8 (P less than .05). Reducing the flip angle can improve examination time, contrast, or motion artifact suppression or eliminate cross talk in T2-weighted spin-echo MR imaging of the pelvis.