MR of cervical lymph nodes: comparison of fast spin-echo and conventional spin-echo T2W scans.

PURPOSE

In order to explore the utility of fast spin-echo techniques in the neck, 50 consecutive conventional spin-echo (CSE) long TR examinations were compared with 50 consecutive fast spin-echo (FSE) long TR scans for cervical lymph nodes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Standard CSE examinations used parameters of 2200/80/1 (TR/TE/excitations), 256 x 128 matrix, 5 mm thick with interslice gaps between 1 and 2.5 mm. FSE studies were employed with TR of 4000/80/2, 256 x 192 matrix, fat suppression and 5 mm contiguous slices. Standard T1-weighted examinations and clinical correlation were used as proof of nodal presence.

RESULTS

Overall vascular flow artefacts, patient motion artefacts, and image quality were comparable between the two techniques. Lymph node detectability was superior with FSE scans (P < 0.05). Typical time saved was approximately 4.5 min with FSE, despite the use of larger matrices, contiguous slices and twice the excitations.

CONCLUSION

FSE is a competitive technique to CSE images in the neck, yielding similar quality images with higher resolution, reduced scan time, and improved lymph node detectability.