Evaluation of fat saturation technique for T2-weighted MR imaging of the spine

The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of fat saturation for performance of T2-weighted imaging of the spine. Eighteen consecutive patients underwent MR imaging of the cervical (n = 7) or lumbar (n = 11) spine with proton density/T2-weighted sequences (TR 2200 ms, TE 30/80 ms) performed with and without fat saturation. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of images was conducted to compare tissue contrast, myelographic effect, presence of artifacts, and ability to delineate important anatomic structures on conventional and fat suppressed sequences. Images obtained with fat saturation demonstrated improved myelographic effect and increased contrast between vertebral body and disk, and between CSF and nerve roots/spinal cord. Image quality and most artifacts were equal on both sequences, though fat suppressed images had reduced image uniformity. Quantitative measurements of tissue contrast indicated improved contrast between vertebral bodies and CSF, disk, and spinal cord/nerve roots on fat saturation images.