title: High-field open versus short-bore magnetic resonance imaging of the spine: a randomized controlled comparison of image quality.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of the present study was to compare the image quality of spinal magnetic resonance (MR) imaging performed on a high-field horizontal open versus a short-bore MR scanner in a randomized controlled study setup.
  
  
  METHODS
  Altogether, 93 (80% women, mean age 53) consecutive patients underwent spine imaging after random assignement to a 1-T horizontal open MR scanner with a vertical magnetic field or a 1.5-T short-bore MR scanner. This patient subset was part of a larger cohort. Image quality was assessed by determining qualitative parameters, signal-to-noise (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratios (CNR), and quantitative contour sharpness.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The image quality parameters were higher for short-bore MR imaging. Regarding all sequences, the relative differences were 39% for the mean overall qualitative image quality, 53% for the mean SNR values, and 34-37% for the quantitative contour sharpness (P<0.0001). The CNR values were also higher for images obtained with the short-bore MR scanner. No sequence was of very poor (nondiagnostic) image quality. Scanning times were significantly longer for examinations performed on the open MR scanner (mean: 32±22 min versus 20±9 min; P<0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this randomized controlled comparison of spinal MR imaging with an open versus a short-bore scanner, short-bore MR imaging revealed considerably higher image quality with shorter scanning times.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00715806.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Charité, Medical School, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Enders
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Charité, Medical School, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rief
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Charité, Medical School, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Elke
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zimmermann
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Charité, Medical School, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Asbach
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Charité, Medical School, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Gerd
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Diederichs
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Charité, Medical School, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wetz
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Charité, Medical School, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Eberhard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Siebert
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Charité, Medical School, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Moritz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Charité, Medical School, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hamm
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Charité, Medical School, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dewey
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000523:psychology / Q000592:standards; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013131:Spine / Q000473:pathology*