University Medical Center Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
Eur J Radiol. 2011 Aug;79(2):177-82. doi: 10.1016/j.ejrad.2009.12.028. Epub 2010 Feb 9.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the image quality of T2-weighted (T2w) imaging of the abdomen and pelvis based on the acquisition of rotating rectangular stripes of k-space data after successive radiofrequency excitation (BLADE technique) in comparison to T2w turbo-spin-echo (TSE) sequences with Cartesian k-space sampling.
A total number of 107 patients with MR imaging of the abdomen or the pelvis were included in this retrospective interindividual study. All exams were performed in the clinical routine at 1.5T. The T2w images were randomly performed in BLADE technique or as TSE sequences. Two blinded radiologists assessed the images, presented in a random order, concerning the delineation of the abdominal and the musculoskeletal structures, the artifacts of these structures, and the overall image qualities.
For the abdomen the mean overall image quality of the T2w-BLADE was rated 3.2 vs. 3.1 for T2w-TSE (p=0.871). The mean musculoskeletal/visceral artifacts of the T2w-BLADE were scored as 2.9/3.0 vs. 3.2/2.6 for the T2w-TSE (p=0.101/p=0.051). The delineation of the musculoskeletal, respectively of the visceral structures was assessed for the T2w-BLADE as 3.0/3.4 vs. 3.2/3.1 for the T2w-TSE (p=0.263; p=0.185). For the pelvis the mean overall image quality of the T2w-BLADE was 3.4 vs. 2.9 for the T2w-TSE (p=0.005). Furthermore the musculoskeletal/visceral artifacts were assessed with a mean of 3.6/3.3 for the T2w-BLADE vs. 3.0/2.8 for the T2w-TSE (p=0.005; p=0.011). The musculoskeletal/visceral delineation of the T2w-BLADE was rated 3.6/3.4 vs. 3.0/2.8 for the T2w-TSE sequence (p<0.001; p=0.008).
In imaging of the pelvis the overall quality of T2w sequences with k-space sampling in BLADE technique was rated significantly superior compared with the standard Cartesian sampling. Similar results were assessed for the reduction of the amount of artifacts and blurring. By contrast, no significant benefit could be demonstrated for the T2w-BLADE in the abdomen.
本研究旨在评估基于连续射频激发后采集旋转矩形条状 K 空间数据（BLADE 技术）的 T2 加权（T2w）腹部和骨盆成像的图像质量，并与笛卡尔 K 空间采样的 T2w 涡轮自旋回波（TSE）序列进行比较。
本回顾性个体研究共纳入 107 例接受腹部或骨盆磁共振成像检查的患者。所有检查均在 1.5T 临床常规中进行。T2w 图像随机采用 BLADE 技术或 TSE 序列进行采集。两名盲法放射科医生评估图像，图像以随机顺序呈现，评估内容包括腹部和骨骼肌肉结构的勾画、这些结构的伪影以及整体图像质量。
对于腹部，T2w-BLADE 的平均整体图像质量评分为 3.2 分，而 T2w-TSE 为 3.1 分（p=0.871）。T2w-BLADE 的平均骨骼肌肉/内脏伪影评分为 2.9/3.0 分，而 T2w-TSE 为 3.2/2.6 分（p=0.101/p=0.051）。对于骨骼肌肉和内脏结构的勾画，T2w-BLADE 的评分分别为 3.0/3.4 分和 3.2/3.1 分，而 T2w-TSE 为 3.2/3.1 分（p=0.263；p=0.185）。对于骨盆，T2w-BLADE 的平均整体图像质量评分为 3.4 分，而 T2w-TSE 为 2.9 分（p=0.005）。此外，T2w-BLADE 的骨骼肌肉/内脏伪影评分为 3.6/3.3 分，而 T2w-TSE 为 3.0/2.8 分（p=0.005；p=0.011）。T2w-BLADE 对骨骼肌肉和内脏结构的勾画评分分别为 3.6/3.4 分和 3.0/2.8 分，而 T2w-TSE 序列为 3.0/2.8 分（p<0.001；p=0.008）。
在骨盆成像中，与标准笛卡尔采样相比，采用 BLADE 技术采集 K 空间采样的 T2w 序列的整体质量被评为明显更优。在减少伪影和模糊方面也得出了类似的结果。相比之下，在腹部，T2w-BLADE 并没有表现出明显的优势。
