Application of IDEAL T2- and postcontrast T1-weighted fat-suppressed FSE imaging in head and neck at 3T: Evaluation of Quality Improvement

초록

Purpose: To compare fat-suppressed MRI quality using iterative decomposition of water and fat with echo asymmetry and least-squares estimation (IDEAL) with that using frequency selective fat-suppresion (FSFS) T2- and postcontrast T1-weighted fast spin-echo images in extracranial head and neck at 3T. Materials and Methods: This prospective, single-center study was institutive review board approved. MRI was performed in 28 individuals of a routine patient collective. The axial T2- and postcontrast T1-weighted imaging with IDEAL and FSFS were compared. Visual evaluation of following items was performed by two experienced, independent readers: 1) artifacts around oral cavity, airway, paranasal sinus, and head-neck junction, 2) uniformity of fat suppression, 3) image sharpness, 4) contrast of pathologies and lymph nodes to surrounding tissue. Statistical evaluation was done by using the Wilconxon’s singed rank test. Results: Both IDEAL T2- and postcontrast T1-weighted imaging significantly reduced artifacts around airway, paranasal sinus, and head-neck junction, and significantly improved uniform fat suppression (p<0.05, respectively). IDEAL significantly decreased artifacts around oral cavity on T2-weighted images, and significantly improved lymph node-to-tissue contrast on postcontrast T1-weighted images (p<0.05, respectively). However, no significant improvement was found on lesion-to-tissue contrast. Conclusion: IDEAL T2- and postcontrast T1-weighted imaging improves image quality by reducing the degree of artifacts around airway, paranasal sinus, and head-neck junction, and providing uniform fat saturation of the head and neck.