title: MR imaging of the wrist: comparison between 1.5- and 3-T MR imaging--preliminary experience.
abstract: Institutional review board approval and informed consent were obtained from 25 healthy volunteers and 15 consecutive patients with chronic wrist pain or suspected carpal mass, and 1.5- and 3-T magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the wrist was prospectively performed with comparable sequence parameters and surface coils of the same geometric design. Imaging protocols at both field strengths included a T1-weighted spin-echo sequence, two intermediate-weighted fast SE sequences with different echo times and with and without fat saturation, and a three-dimensional fast field-echo sequence. The contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) between muscle and bone and between bone and cartilage was calculated for both field strengths. The visibility of various anatomic structures, including the triangular fibrocartilage complex, carpal ligaments, nerves, and cartilage, was analyzed with a four-point grading scale. CNRs were significantly higher on 3-T MR images than on 1.5-T MR images (P < .001; analysis of variance) for all sequences. Visibility of the triangular fibrocartilage complex and intercarpal ligaments and cartilage was significantly better on 3-T MR images than on 1.5-T MR images (paired sign test).
authors.affiliation: Institute of Diagnostic Radiology, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, CH-8091 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Nadja
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Saupe
authors.forename: Klaas P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Prüssmann
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Luechinger
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bösiger
authors.forename: Borut
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Marincek
authors.forename: Dominik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Weishaupt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014954:Wrist Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014955:Wrist Joint / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology*