First Clinical Results With An 3d–space Sequence

MRI of the Knee at 3T:First Clinical Results With an 3D–SPACE SequenceObjective: (1) To investigate the ability of clinical cartilage magnetic resonance imaging through signal-noise(SNR) and contrast-noise-Ratio (CNR) analysis. (2) To evaluate the clinical value of 3D-FS-PDWI-SPACE and 3D-reconstrution in cartilage defects of knee.Methods: (1) 25 healthy volunteers (from 21 to 29 years, mean value: 24 years) underwent an MRI scan of the knee at 3T (Siemens, MAGNETOM Trio, A Tim System) using an 8 channel knee coil. Five different 3D techniques were optimized for cartilage imaging: a)3D FLASH, b)3D FLASH +water-excited, c) 3D DESS,d)3D-TrueFISP, e)3D-FS-PDWI-SPACE (TSE technique with variable flip-angle) and compared against the conventional 2D TSE PDWI multi-slice protocol with fat saturation as reference standard. Image resolution. The signal intensity(SI) of the cartilage in femoral condyle,femoral metaphysic, ossium, gastrocnemius and background noise was measured im the imaging located in femoral condyle fossa .thenthe cartilage SNR and CNR between cartlage and medulla ossium,synovia and myoideum were calculated,and the ability of different 3D different sequences MR imaging was evaluated.(2) Twenty four patients were evaluated for hyaline cartilage defects of the knee with MR.Three different MR imaging sequences including 2D-FS-FSE-T1WI, 2D-FS-FSE-T2WI,and 3D-FS-PDWI-SPACE with three -dimensional reconstruction. The results of the cases were analyzed compared to arthroscopy..Results: (1) 3D-FS-PDWI- SPACE AND 3D-FLASH-WE had a significantly (P<0.05) higher SNR for cartilage and higher CNR between cartilage and fluid than the corresponding sequences with the same section thickness.(P <0.05 for both). And the two sequences yielded higher cartilage visibility than the other sequences (P <0.05) (2) When looking at all surfaces combined,the 3D-FS-PDWI-SPACE imaging sequence had a significantly sensitivity better than the conventional imaging sequencefor detecting hyaline cartilage defects(93%versus56%,p<0.01)Conclusions: (1) Of all three techniques, the 3D-FS-PDWI-SAPCE sequence is a promising new MR imaging sequence for 3D cartilage diagnosis. (2) the value of 3D-FS-PDWI-SPACE was a promising sequence in evaluating cartilage defect of the knee joint.