title: Comparison of Modern 3D and 2D MR Imaging Sequences of the Wrist at 3 Tesla.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the image quality of modern 3 D and 2 D sequences for dedicated wrist imaging at 3 Tesla (T) MRI.
  
  
  METHODS
  At 3 T MRI, 18 patients (mean age: 36.2 years) with wrist pain and 16 healthy volunteers (mean age: 26.4 years) were examined using 2 D proton density-weighted fat-saturated (PDfs), isotropic 3 D TrueFISP, 3 D MEDIC, and 3 D PDfs SPACE sequences. Image quality was rated on a five-point scale (0 - 4) including overall image quality (OIQ), visibility of important structures (cartilage, ligaments, TFCC) and degree of artifacts. Signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratios (CNR) of cartilage/bone/muscle/fluid as well as the mean overall SNR/CNR were calculated using region-of-interest analysis. ANOVA, paired t-, and Wilcoxon-signed-rank tests were applied.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The image quality of all tested sequences was superior to 3 D PDfs SPACE (p < 0.01). 3 D TrueFISP had the highest combined cartilage score (mean: 3.4) and performed better in cartilage comparisons against 3 D PDfs SPACE in both groups and 2 D PDfs in volunteers (p < 0.05). 3 D MEDIC performed better in 7 of 8 comparisons (p < 0.05) regarding ligaments and TFCC. 2 D PDfs provided constantly high scores. The mean overall SNR/CNR for 2 D PDfs, 3 D PDfs SPACE, 3 D TrueFISP, and 3 D MEDIC were 68/65, 32/27, 45/47, and 57/45, respectively. 2 D PDfs performed best in most SNR/CNR comparisons (p < 0.05) and 3 D MEDIC performed best within the 3 D sequences (p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Except 3 D PDfs SPACE, all tested 3 D and 2 D sequences provided high image quality. 3 D TrueFISP was best for cartilage imaging, 3 D MEDIC for ligaments and TFCC and 2 D PDfs for general wrist imaging.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  • 3 D TrueFISP is recommended for cartilage imaging of the wrist at 3 T.• 3 D MEDIC is recommended for ligaments and TFCC.• Robust 2 D PDfs should be used in routine protocols. 3 D sequences may be added depending on the clinical question.• 3 D PDfs SPACE is currently inferior. Citation Format: • Rehnitz C, Klaan B, von Stillfried F et al. Comparison of Modern 3D and 2D MR Imaging Sequences of the Wrist at 3 Tesla. Fortschr Röntgenstr 2016; 188: 753 - 762.
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rehnitz
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Klaan
authors.affiliation: Department for Orthopedics, Traumatology and Paraplegiology, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: von Stillfried
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Amarteifio
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing and Health, University of Applied Sciences of the Saarland, Saarbruecken, Germany.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Burkholder
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: H U
authors.initials: HU
authors.lastname: Kauczor
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Weber
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014954:Wrist Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014955:Wrist Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*