title: Single-breath-hold thin-slice gadoxetic acid-enhanced hepatobiliary MR imaging using a newly developed three-dimensional fast spoiled gradient-echo sequence.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To prospectively evaluate the efficacy of a new three-dimensional gradient-echo sequence (Turbo LAVA) that uses undersampled k-space acquisition combined with a two-dimensional parallel imaging technique for hepatobiliary MRI.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty patients underwent T1-weighted gadoxetic acid-enhanced hepatobiliary axial MRI during a single breath-hold using both Turbo LAVA (thickness/interval=1.6/0.8mm) and conventional three-dimensional gradient-echo (4/2mm; LAVA) sequences at 3T. Axial 4-mm-thick reformation was performed from Turbo LAVA images. Portal vein-to-liver contrast (PLC), bile duct-to-liver contrast (BLC), and lesion-to-liver contrast (LLC) were compared. Two radiologists independently assessed image quality using a five-point scale. Sagittal 4-mm-thick multiplanar reconstructions (MPR) were performed from both sequences and assessed together with directly obtained 4-mm-thick sagittal LAVA images in terms of sharpness. The paired t-test was used to compare PLC, BLC, and LLC. The Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare five-point scales.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean PLC (P<0.001), BLC (P<0.001), and LLC (P<0.005) were significantly higher for Turbo LAVA than for LAVA; the scores for image noise and sharpness were inferior (P=0.000 and 0.005) and superior (0.005 and 0.157) for Turbo LAVA. There were no significant differences in the scores for bile duct visualization, artifacts, fat suppression quality, overall quality, and focal lesion conspicuity. For sagittal images, MPR Turbo LAVA showed significantly better sharpness than MPR LAVA but showed significantly worse sharpness compared with directly obtained LAVA.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High-spatial-resolution single-breath-hold hepatobiliary MRI using Turbo LAVA was feasible. Diagnostic-quality MPR images can be obtained using this sequence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine. Electronic address: mhori@radiol.med.osaka-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Masatoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hori
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine.
authors.forename: Tonsok
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine.
authors.forename: Hiromitsu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Onishi
authors.affiliation: Global MR Applications and Workflow, GE Healthcare.
authors.forename: Naoyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Takei
authors.affiliation: Global MR Applications and Workflow, GE Healthcare.
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wakayama
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine.
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sakane
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine.
authors.forename: Aliou Amadou
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Dia
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine.
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsuboyama
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Osaka Medical College.
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nakamoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Osaka University Hospital.
authors.forename: Mitsuaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tatsumi
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine.
authors.forename: Noriyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tomiyama
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016477:Artifacts; D001652:Bile Ducts / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D062485:Breath Holding; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008099:Liver / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; C073590:gadolinium ethoxybenzyl DTPA; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA
keywords: Gadoxetic acid; Gd-EOB-DTPA; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Liver neoplasms; Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)