Korean J Radiol.  2015 Oct;16(5):1038-1046. 10.3348/kjr.2015.16.5.1038.

T2-Weighted Liver MRI Using the MultiVane Technique at 3T: Comparison with Conventional T2-Weighted MRI

• Kang KA
• Kim YK
• Kim E
• Jeong WK
• Choi D
• Lee WJ
• Jung SH
• Baek SY

• KMID: 2160771
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3348/kjr.2015.16.5.1038

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
To assess the value of applying MultiVane to liver T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) compared with conventional T2WIs with emphasis on detection of focal liver lesions.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Seventy-eight patients (43 men and 35 women) with 86 hepatic lesions and 20 pancreatico-biliary diseases underwent MRI including T2WIs acquired using breath-hold (BH), respiratory-triggered (RT), and MultiVane technique at 3T. Two reviewers evaluated each T2WI with respect to artefacts, organ sharpness, and conspicuity of intrahepatic vessels, hilar duct, and main lesion using five-point scales, and made pairwise comparisons between T2WI sequences for these categories. Diagnostic accuracy (Az) and sensitivity for hepatic lesion detection were evaluated using alternative free-response receiver operating characteristic analysis.
RESULTS
MultiVane T2WI was significantly better than BH-T2WI or RT-T2WI for organ sharpness and conspicuity of intrahepatic vessels and main lesion in both separate reviews and pairwise comparisons (p < 0.001). With regard to motion artefacts, MultiVane T2WI or BH-T2WI was better than RT-T2WI (p < 0.001). Conspicuity of hilar duct was better with BH-T2WI than with MultiVane T2WI (p = 0.030) or RT-T2WI (p < 0.001). For detection of 86 hepatic lesions, sensitivity (mean, 97.7%) of MultiVane T2WI was significantly higher than that of BH-T2WI (mean, 89.5%) (p = 0.008) or RT-T2WI (mean, 84.9%) (p = 0.001).
CONCLUSION
Applying the MultiVane technique to T2WI of the liver is a promising approach to improving image quality that results in increased detection of focal liver lesions compared with conventional T2WI.

Keyword

Magnetic resonance imaging; 3T MRI; MultiVane; T2-weighted imaging

MeSH Terms

Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Artifacts
Biliary Tract Diseases/diagnosis/radiography
Female
Humans
Liver Diseases/*diagnosis/radiography
Liver Neoplasms/*diagnosis/pathology/radiography
*Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Middle Aged
Pancreatic Diseases/diagnosis/radiography
Retrospective Studies

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 57-year-old man diagnosed with colon cancer with liver metastasis. Small two liver metastases (0.3-0.4 cm in diameter) are indistinct on breath-hold T2-weighted image (A) and respiratory-triggered T2-weighted image (B), but are clearly seen on MultiVane T2-weighted image (arrows) (C). Severe motion artefact is noted in (B).

• 

  Fig. 2 Breath-hold T2-weighted image (A), respiratory-triggered T2-weighted image (B), and MultiVane T2-weighted image (C) in 36-year-old man. Sharpness of pancreas margin was considered to be better with (C) than with (A) or (B).

• 

  Fig. 3 60-year-old man diagnosed with colon cancer with liver metastasis. Small liver metastasis (0.3 cm in diameter) (arrows) is indistinct on breath-hold T2-weighted image (A) and respiratory-triggered T2-weighted image (B), however is clearly seen on MultiVane T2-weighted image (arrow) (C). Motion artefact is noted in (B). Conspicuity of intrahepatic portal vein and hepatic vein is better with (C) than with (A) or (B).

• 

  Fig. 4 59-year-old man with 2.2 cm-sized hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatic mass is not depicted on breath-hold T2-weighted image (A) and respiratory-triggered T2-weighted image (B), however is clearly seen as hyperintense (arrow) on MultiVane T2-weighted image (C).

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