title: MR imaging of the knee: preliminary results with a 3DFT GRASS pulse sequence.
abstract: The knees of 17 patients (18 extremities) with possible meniscal, cruciate ligament, and articular cartilage abnormalities were examined with a three-dimensional Fourier transform (3DFT), gradient-refocused acquisition in a steady state (GRASS) pulse sequence. Arthroscopic confirmation was available in all cases and was the standard for comparison. Thirteen of these extremities were also examined by using a two-dimensional Fourier transform spin-echo pulse sequence with a 2000-msec repetition time and 20- and 80-msec echo time. In these 13 cases, both pulse sequences correctly identified seven of eight meniscal abnormalities. However, interpretation of the 3DFT GRASS images resulted in fewer false-positive meniscal tears (three vs six). Cruciate ligament tears were detected more readily on the 3DFT GRASS images (six vs three with two possible tears on the spin-echo images). These preliminary findings suggest that the overall accuracy of MR imaging of the knee could be improved by including 3DFT gradient-refocused pulse sequences.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710.
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Spritzer
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Vogler
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.forename: W E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Garrett
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: McNamara
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lohnes
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Herfkens
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001182:Arthroscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007592:Joint Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged