title: Superparamagnetic iron oxide (Feridex)-enhanced MRI in diagnosis of focal hepatic lesions.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the diagnostic value of superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO)-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for hepatic focal solid lesions.
  
  
  METHODS
  SPIO (Feridex)-enhanced MRI examination was performed in 28 cases of hepatic space-occupying lesions defined by CT or MRI or other methods. In post-contrast enhanced examination, the signal intensity and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were measured in lesions and normal hepatic parenchyma in T2-weighted images (T2WI) and were compared with those in pre-contrast enhanced MRI. The number and morphology of the lesions were visualized for qualitative diagnostic analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In Feridex-enhanced MRI, the signal intensity of normal hepatic parenchyma was decreased while the CNR between lesions and normal liver tissues significantly improved in comparison with that in pre-contrast enhanced examination.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Feridex-enhanced T2WI examination significantly improves detection of hepatic lesions and is valuable in diagnosing hepatic focal solid lesions.
authors.affiliation: Medical Imaging Center, Nanfang Hospital, First Military Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
authors.forename: Ge
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.forename: Xue-Lin
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ren-Min
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Qiong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cang
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005290:Ferric Compounds; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D005290:Ferric Compounds; C000499:ferric oxide