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.
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.
Chang
Jung Min
JM
Department of Radiology, and Institute of Radiation Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
Lee
Jeong Min
JM
Lee
Min Woo
MW
Choi
Jin Young
JY
Kim
Se Hyung
SH
Lee
Jae Young
JY
Han
Joon Koo
JK
Choi
Byung Ihn
BI
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
D003287:Contrast Media; D005290:Ferric Compounds; C000499:ferric oxide