Compositional magnetic resonance imaging in the evaluation of the intervertebral disc: Axial vs sagittal T₂ mapping

The aim of this study was to assess T₂ values of the lumbar intervertebral discs in the axial and sagittal plane views and assess their respective interobserver reliability. The lumbar intervertebral discs of 23 symptomatic patients (11 female; 12 male; mean age, 44.1 ± 10.6; range, 24-64 years) were examined at 3T. Region-of-interest (ROI) analysis was performed on axial and sagittal T₂ maps by two independent observers. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was assessed for every ROI. The interobserver agreement was excellent for the nucleus pulposus (NP) in the sagittal (0.951; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.926-0.968) and axial (0.921; 95% CI, 0.845-0.955) planes. The posterior 20% region showed a higher ICC in the axial vs the sagittal assessment (0.845; 95% CI, 0.704-0.911 vs 0.819; 95% CI, 0.744-0.873). The same was true for the posterior 10%, with the axial ROI showing a higher ICC (0.923; 95% CI, 0.865-0.953 vs 0.628; 95% CI, 0.495-0.732). The intraobserver agreement was excellent for every ROI except the sagittal 10% region, which showed good performance (0.869; 95% CI, 0.813-0.909). The sagittal nucleus pulposus was the best-performing ROI with regard to intra- and interobserver agreement in the T₂ assessment of the lumbar intervertebral disc. However, the axial NP showed more stable agreements overall and across the value range. In addition, the annular analysis showed better inter- and intraobserver agreement in the axial plane view. Clinical significance: Based on the presented analysis, we highly recommend that further studies use axial T₂ mapping due to the higher intra- and interreader agreement.