title: Superparamagnetic iron oxide-enhanced liver magnetic resonance imaging: comparison of 1.5 T and 3.0 T imaging for detection of focal malignant liver lesions.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We sought to compare the image quality, lesion conspicuity, and the diagnostic performance of 1.5 T and 3.0 T superparamagnetic iron oxide-enhanced liver magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for detecting focal malignant hepatic lesions.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 35 patients with pathologically proven liver malignancy underwent both 1.5 and 3.0 T SPIO-enhanced MRI. The diagnostic accuracy was evaluated using the alternative-free response receiver operating characteristic method. Image artifacts, quality, and the lesion conspicuity were analyzed. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of the lesion were calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No significant difference of area under ROC curve (Az value) was noted. The mean SNR and CNR of the lesions was higher in the 3.0 T sets. There was no difference between the 1.5 T and the 3.0 T image sets for lesion conspicuity, but the image quality was better on 1.5 T. Motion and susceptibility artifacts were more frequent on 3.0 T.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Diagnostic accuracies of the SPIO-enhanced MRI were equivalent on the 1.5 T and 3.0 T image sets. More prominent artifacts on 3.0 T superparamagnetic iron oxide-enhanced liver MRI counteracted advantage of higher SNR and CNR of 3.0 T.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, and Institute of Radiation Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jung Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Jeong Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Min Woo
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jin Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Se Hyung
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jae Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Joon Koo
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Byung Ihn
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Choi
mesh_terms: D003287:Contrast Media; D005260:Female; D005290:Ferric Compounds; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012372:ROC Curve
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D005290:Ferric Compounds; C000499:ferric oxide