[Examination of the thoracic duct using fast advanced spin echo].
Recent reports have indicated that depiction of the thoracic duct is possible without administration of a contrast agent using fast advanced spin echo (FASE), ECG-triggered, half-Fourier fast spin echo (FSE), by depicting blood vessels. In this study, we attempted to depict the thoracic duct using FASE, which is generally used for MR-hydrography. By varying effective echo time (effective TE), the contrast-to-noise ratios (CNR) for saline and baby oil were measured with and without fat suppression. Without fat suppression, the effective TE of 500 msec yielded the highest CNR. With fat suppression, the effective TE of 250 msec provided the highest CNR. Next, examinations of the thoracic duct were performed in volunteers in order to obtain the highest CNR. Results indicated that the best depiction of the thoracic duct was obtained using the effective TE of 500 msec in 3D-FASE without fat suppression. Thoracic duct imaging using heavily T(2)-weighted parameters allows better control of signal intensities of background and surrounding tissues than can be obtained with fat suppression. Furthermore, the heavily T(2)-weighted parameter only depicts the long T(2) components of the thoracic duct.
Nagata
Koji
K
Department of Radiology, Fukuoka Prefectural Hepato-Gastroenterological Center Asakura Hospital.
Yamashita
Hironori
H
Miyazaki
Mitsue
M
D017352:Echo-Planar Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005583:Fourier Analysis; D006801:Humans; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D013897:Thoracic Duct / Q000033:anatomy & histology*