Clinical value of 3D T₂*-weighted imaging with multi-echo acquisition: comparison with conventional 2D T₂*-weighted imaging and 3D phase-sensitive MR imaging.

Susceptibility-weighted angiography (SWAN) is a state-of-the-art 3-dimensional (3D) T₂*-weighted imaging (T₂*WI) technique with multiple echo acquisitions, but its clinical utility remains to be determined. We compared the utility of susceptibility-weighting sequences among SWAN, 3D phase-sensitive magnetic resonance (MR) imaging (PSI), and conventional 2-dimensional (2D) T₂*WI in routine clinical practice. Our results indicate that SWAN can achieve susceptibility weighting more effectively than conventional 2D T₂*WI and as effectively as PSI and requires a much shorter scan time than PSI.