Comparison of phased-array and body coils for MR imaging of liver.
OBJECTIVE
To compare liver lesion conspicuity using torso phased-array (TPA) and body coils with two pulse sequences.


METHODS
Sixty patients with 125 focal hepatic lesions underwent T2-weighted fast spin-echo (T2-FSE) and fast multiplanar inversion recovery (FMPIR) imaging with a standard body coil and with a TPA coil. The first 30 patients were scanned identically in both coils with four acquisitions; the second 30 were scanned with four acquisitions in the body coil and two in the TPA coil.


RESULTS
Liver-lesion contrast-to-noise (C/N) was significantly higher for the TPA coil both with four acquisitions (P< 0.001) and with two acquisitions (P < 0.002) using FMPIR, compared to with four acquisitions in the body coil. Liver-lesion C/N for T2-FSE was equivalent in both coils. Liver-lesion C/N was significantly higher (P<0.01) for FMPIR than T2-FSE both in the body coil and in the TPA coil.


CONCLUSIONS
Liver-lesion C/N was significantly higher using the TPA coil rather than the body coil. Imaging time can be reduced by decreasing the number of acquisitions with the TPA coil.
Schwartz
L H
LH
Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10021, USA.
Panicek
D M
DM
Thomson
E
E
Herman
S K
SK
Shah
G V
GV
Heelan
R T
RT
Fong
Y
Y
Blumgart
L H
LH
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000556:secondary; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018358:Neuroendocrine Tumors / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000556:secondary