Magnetic resonance (MR) cholangiography: quantitative and qualitative comparison of 3.0 Tesla with 1.5 Tesla.
OBJECTIVE
To determine quantitative and qualitative image quality in patients undergoing magnetic resonance (MR) cholangiography at 3.0 Tesla (T) compared with 1.5 T.


METHODS
Fifty patients (30 women; mean age, 51 years) underwent MR cholangiography at 1.5 T; another 50 patients (25 women; mean age 51 years) were scanned at 3.0 T. MR sequence protocol consisted of breath-hold single-slice rapid acquisition with relaxation enhancement (RARE) and a respiratory-triggered 3D turbo spin echo (3D TSE) sequence. Maximum intensity projections were generated from the 3D TSE datasets. Contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) measurements between the common bile duct (CBD), left and right intrahepatic duct (LHD, RHD), and periductal tissue were performed. Three radiologists assessed qualitatively the visibility of the CBD, LHD, and RHD and the overall diagnostic quality.


RESULTS
Mean gain in CNR at 3.0 T versus 1.5 T in all 3 locations ranged for the RARE sequence from 7.7% to 38.1% and for the 3D TSE from 0.5% to 26.1% (P > 0.05 for all differences). Qualitative analysis did not reveal any significant difference between the 2 field strengths (P > 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
MR cholangiography at 3.0 T shows a trend toward higher CNR without improving image quality significantly.
Schindera
Sebastian T
ST
Department of Radiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.
Miller
Chad M
CM
Ho
Lisa M
LM
DeLong
David M
DM
Merkle
Elmar M
EM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001660:Biliary Tract Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002648:Child; D049448:Cholangiopancreatography, Magnetic Resonance / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric