Optimization of inversion time for postmortem short-tau inversion recovery (STIR) MR imaging.
OBJECTIVE
Signal intensity and image contrast differ between postmortem magnetic resonance (PMMR) images and images acquired from the living body. We sought to achieve sufficient fat suppression with short-tau inversion recovery (STIR) PMMR imaging by optimizing inversion time (TI).


METHODS
We subjected 37 deceased adult patients to PMMR imaging at 1.5 tesla 8 to 60 hours after confirmation of death and measured T1 values of areas of subcutaneous fat with relaxation time maps. Rectal temperature (RT) measured immediately after PMMR ranged from 6 to 31°C. We used Pearson's correlation coefficient to analyze the relationship between T1 and relaxation time (RT). We compared STIR images from 4 cadavers acquired with a TI commonly used in the living body and another TI calculated from the linear regression of T1 and RT.


RESULTS
T1 values of subcutaneous fat ranged from 89.4 to 182.2 ms. There was a strong, positive, and significant correlation between T1 and RT (r = 0.91, P < 0.0001). The regression expression for the relationship was T1 = 2.6*RT + 90 at a field strength of 1.5T. The subcutaneous fat signal was suppressed more effectively with the optimized TI.


CONCLUSIONS
The T1 value of subcutaneous fat in PMMR correlates linearly with body temperature. Using this correlation to determine TI, fat suppression with PMMR STIR imaging can be easily improved.
Department of Radiological Technology, Tsukuba Medical Center Hospital.
Tomoya
T
Kobayashi
Masahiko
M
Monma
Takeshi
T
Baba
Yoshiyuki
Y
Ishimori
Seiji
S
Shiotani
Hajime
H
Saitou
Kazunori
K
Kaga
Katsumi
K
Miyamoto
Hideyuki
H
Hayakawa
Kazuhiro
K
Homma
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000465:Algorithms; D001344:Autopsy; D001831:Body Temperature; D002102:Cadaver; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D050151:Subcutaneous Fat / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D013997:Time Factors