title: Fast fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FAST-FLAIR) of ischemic lesions in the brain: comparison with T2-weighted turbo SE.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We compared fast fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FAST-FLAIR) images with Turbo SE T2-weighted images to evaluate the detectability of small ischemic lesions in the brain.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-six cases of multiple cerebral ischemic lesions were examined with FAST-FLAIR and Turbo SE imaging. The detectability of lesions, ability to discriminate lesions from the cortex, visualization of perivascular space, and visualization of brainstem lesions were compared between the two sequences.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The total number of lesions detected on both sequences was 534 in 36 cases. Six lesions in three cases were detected only on FAST-FLAIR, and one lesion in one case was detected only on the Turbo SE. All the 52 lesions located close to the cortex could be discriminated from the cortex on the FAST-FLAIR images, while 23 of these lesions could not be discriminated on the Turbo SE. Perivascular spaces were not visualized as areas of high signal on the FAST-FLAIR images. Pontine lesions that were visualized in four cases were clearer on the Turbo SE images than on the FAST-FLAIR images.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The FAST-FLAIR images were shown to be useful in the detection of ischemic lesions and in distinguishing them from the surrounding normal structures. The FAST-FLAIR sequence is expected to become a new additional routine sequence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Nara Prefecture Hospital, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Taoka
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Iwasaki
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fukusumi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kitano
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshioka
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ohishi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Uchida
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakanishi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hirai
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D017352:Echo-Planar Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged