title: Brain lesions in patients with multiple sclerosis: detection with echo-planar imaging.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the detection of brain lesions with echo-planar imaging relative to conventional spin-echo (SE) imaging.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 17 patients (three men, 14 women; mean age, 31 years) with multiple sclerosis, the following were compared: single-shot proton-density- and T2-weighted and thin-section T2-weighted echo-planar, proton-density- and T2-weighted multishot echo-planar, and conventional SE sequences. Quantitative and qualitative criteria as well as lesion detectability were evaluated. The proton-density-weighted SE sequence was used as the standard of reference.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Multishot sequences were superior to single-shot sequences in image quality and lesion detectability. With the multishot proton-density-weighted sequence, 53 of 54 large lesions and 23 of 30 small lesions were detected; with the single-shot proton-density-weighted sequence, 38 of 54 large lesions and five of 30 small lesions were detected.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  With multishot echo-planar sequences, detectability of large lesions is similar to that with conventional SE imaging. Susceptibility artifact is diminished in comparison to single-shot echo-planar sequences.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Beth Israel Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Siewert
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Mueller
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gaa
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Darby
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Poser
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Wielopolski
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Edelman
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Warach
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016477:Artifacts; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D002526:Cerebellar Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D017352:Echo-Planar Imaging / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted