title: [Clinical application of three dimensional ultrafast MR imaging to intracerebral traumatic lesions].
abstract: We applied a T1-weighted three-dimensional (3D) magnetization-prepared rapid gradient-echo sequence (MPRAGE) for the detection of intracerebral lesions associated with closed head injuries. Thirty-four patients underwent brain MR imaging on a 1.5 Tesla superconducting MR unit. We applied an MPRAGE sequence, together with spin echo (SE) and gradient echo (GRE) sequences, and evaluated the detectability of lesions with each sequence. A total of 100 intracerebral traumatic lesions (33 cortical contusion, 56 diffuse axonal injury, 11 subcortical gray matter injury) were found. Ninety-seven percent of all lesions were detected on MPRAGE images, and 67% on SE and GRE images. The detectability of lesions in each category was 91%, 98%, and 100% on MPRAGE images, and 88%, 54%, and 73% on either SE or GRE images. 3D MPRAGE is a promising method to detect intracerebral traumatic lesions, particularly those associated with diffuse axonal injury, because of its high quality of contrast and spatial resolution and the capability of image reconstruction in any plane.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Saitama Medical School.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Enomoto
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Amanuma
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Watabe
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Heshiki
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D016489:Head Injuries, Closed / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity