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Updated: Oct 26, 2026
Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Skeletal Muscle Disease
Published on: December 18, 2016
Comparison of sequences for depicting bone marrow alterations in osteomyelitis applied in a low field strength
H Bonél1, T Helmberger, H C Geiss
1Institut for Radiological Diagnosis, Klinikum Grosshadern der Ludwigs-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany. hbonel@compuserve.com
Objective/Patients:
To investigate the efficacy of standard sequences of a low field system for the detection of osteomyelitis, we tested T1wI pre and post i.v. contrast, T2w and fat suppressed IR sequences.
Design:
On the basis of clinical and laboratory evidence, pathology reports, and three phase granulocyte scintigraphy, osteomyelitis was diagnosed in 18 of 21 patients with Charcot's joints. A consecutive low and high field magnetic resonance (MR) scan confirmed osteomyelitic bone marrow changes in the same osseous regions. These 18 diabetic patients were then studied on a 0.2 Tesla dedicated MR system (Esaote ArtoScan) using T1wI (SE: relaxation time (TR) 520/echo time (TE) 24: axial and coronal) before and after i.v. application of 0.1 mmol/l Gd-DTPA/kg BW, T2w imaging (TSE: TR 3500/TE 80 or TR 2000/TE 120: axial), and fat suppressed inversion recovery (IR) imaging (short tau inversion recovery (STIR): TR 3000/TE 30/TI 80 or inversion recovery gradient echo (IRGE)/fat suppressed IRGE (GEFS): TR 1000/TE 16m 80: coronal).
Results:
The SE T1w sequence showed a significantly higher contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) before administration of i.v. contrast. The TSE T2w pulse sequence demonstrated bone marrow changes superiorily utilizing a TE of 120 ms (CNR = 16.5+/-2.7 compared to 5.5+/-2.5 with TE = 80 ms). The IRGE showed a higher CNR than the standard STIR (CNR = 19.2+/-2.5 compared to 12.4+/-2.9).
Conclusion:
Fat suppressed IRGE imaging and longer TE in T2w TSE sequences result in a significantly better CNR in osteomyelitis. This way, using optimized sequences, low field systems are apt to depict bone marrow changes in the course of osteomyelitis.
