Breath-held MR cholangiopancreatography with half-averaged single shot hybrid rapid acquisition with relaxation enhancement sequence: comparison of fast GRE and SE sequences.
OBJECTIVE
Our goal was to determine whether half-averaged single shot hybrid rapid acquisition with relaxation enhancement (single shot hybrid RARE) sequence can improve image quality, duct conspicuity, signal intensity ratio (SIR), and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of MR cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) by comparing it with two other MRCP sequences: fast SE (FSE) and contrast-enhanced Fourier-acquired steady-state technique (CE-FAST).


METHODS
MRCP with three sequences was obtained in 46 people (10 volunteers, 36 patients with pancreatobiliary disease). Overall image quality and duct conspicuity were graded. SIR and CNR were also measured.


RESULTS
Overall image quality was graded excellent or good in all 46 patients (100%) with single shot hybrid RARE, in 38 of 46 (83%) with FSE, and in 5 of 46 (11%) with CE-FAST. Duct conspicuity was the best in single shot hybrid RARE statistically. SIR was the highest in FSE, while CNR was highest statistically in single shot hybrid RARE of three sequences.


CONCLUSIONS
Single shot hybrid RARE can provide consistently higher quality MRCP than FSE and CE-FAST because sequential images by single shot hybrid RARE minimize respiratory, bowel, and cardiac motion artifacts.
Ichikawa
T
T
Department of Radiology, Kyorin University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Nitatori
T
T
Hachiya
J
J
Mizutani
Y
Y
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016477:Artifacts; D001652:Bile Ducts / Q000473:pathology*; D001660:Biliary Tract Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010179:Pancreas / Q000473:pathology*; D010182:Pancreatic Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis