title: Fast spin-echo studies of contrast and small-lesion definition in a liver-metastasis phantom.
abstract: A liver-metastasis model was used to study the ability of fast spin-echo (FSE) imaging to show small lesions (1 pixel in diameter) relative to conventional spin-echo imaging. FSE images of the liver-metastasis phantom were acquired with various phase-encode reordering schemes to manipulate T2 contrast. The imaging time for multisection acquisitions was 27 seconds for FSE imaging and 6 minutes 48 seconds for conventional spin-echo imaging. Computer simulations were performed to determine how the point spread function varies with the different phase-encoding orders in FSE imaging. Contrast-to-noise ratios and signal profiles of the lesions were measured as a function of the effective TE and lesion size. Experimental results and theoretical simulations showed that T2-weighted FSE imaging provides high contrast and good edge definition even for small lesions. The results indicate that FSE imaging may become a powerful method for the early detection of liver metastases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, VA Medical Center, San Francisco.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chien
authors.forename: R V
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Mulkern
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000556:secondary*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008961:Models, Structural