MR imaging of meniscal tears: comparison of intermediate-weighted FRFSE imaging with intermediate-weighted FSE imaging.
OBJECTIVE
We compared intermediate-weighted fast spin-echo (IW-FSE) images with intermediate-weighted fast-recovery FSE (IW-FRFSE) images in the diagnosis of meniscal tears.


METHODS
First, 64 patients were recruited, and the arthroscopic findings (n = 40) and image analysis (n = 19) identified 59 torn menisci with 36 patients. Both the diagnostic performance and image quality in assessing meniscal tears was evaluated for IW-FSE and IW-FRFSE images using a four-point scale. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) calculation was performed for both sets of images.


RESULTS
IW-FRFSE image specificity (100 %) for diagnosing the posterior horn of the medial meniscus (MM) tear with reader 1 was significantly higher than that of IW-FSE images (90 %). Mean ratings of the contrast between the lesion and normal signal intensity within the meniscus were significantly higher for the IW-FRFSE image ratings than the IW-FSE images in most meniscal tears. Mean SNRs were significantly higher for IW-FSE images than for IW-FRFSE images (P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
IW-FRFSE imaging can be used as an alternative to the IW-FSE imaging to evaluate meniscal tears.
Department of Radiology, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1-1 Minamikogushi, Ube, Yamaguchi 755-8505, Japan. tokugama@gmail.com
Osamu
O
Tokuda
Yuko
Y
Harada
Takaaki
T
Ueda
Etsushi
E
Iida
Gen
G
Shiraishi
Tetsuhisa
T
Motomura
Kouji
K
Fukuda
Naofumi
N
Matsunaga
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D000070600:Tibial Meniscus Injuries