Bowen Hou1, Chanyuan Liu1, Yitong Li1, Yan Xiong1, Jingyi Wang1, Peisen Zhang2, Jianyi Liu3, Weiyin Vivian Liu4, Xiaoming Li5. 1. Department of Radiology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No.1095, Jiefang Road, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei Province, China. 2. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, School of Medicine, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China. 3. Renhe Shijia, Chongren, Qiaokou District, Wuhan, China. 4. GE Healthcare, 4th floor, building 1, No.1 courtyard, Tongji South Rd, Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone, Beijing, China. weiyin.liu@qq.com. 5. Department of Radiology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No.1095, Jiefang Road, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei Province, China. lilyboston2002@sina.com.
Abstract
PURPOSE: To determine and compare the performance of zero echo imaging (ZTE) with conventional MRI sequences on lumbar osseous morphology in patients suspected with lumbar degeneration with multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) as standard reference. METHODS: 22 subjects with concerned lumbar degeneration were recruited. All subjects were scanned with ZTE sequence after routine conventional MR sequences on a 3.0 T system and also received MSCT examination. Image quality was assessed. The quantitative and qualitative parameters of lumbar osseous morphology on MSCT, ZTE and MRI images were evaluated by three musculoskeletal radiologists independently. Inter-reader and inter-modality reliability and the difference between the modalities were calculated. RESULTS: There was no difference for the osseous parameters between modalities, including axial orientation (p = 0.444), IAD (p = 0.381), lateral recess (p = 0.370), pedicle width (p = 0.067), pedicle height (p = 0.056), and osteophyte grade (p = 0.052). The measurement of the foramina diameter was statistically different between conventional MRI and MSCT (p < 0.05) but not between the MSCT and ZTE (p = 0.660). Conventional MRI was more likely to miss cortical bone abnormalities. ZTE appeared blurrier in cortical bone than MSCT, especially in cases with severe lumbar degeneration. The inter-reader agreement between MSCT and ZTE-MRI was higher than between MSCT and conventional MRI. CONCLUSIONS: ZTE-MRI could offer more cortical bone details than conventional MRI images and might be a valid alternative to CT for lumbar osseous morphology assessment to some extent.
PURPOSE: To determine and compare the performance of zero echo imaging (ZTE) with conventional MRI sequences on lumbar osseous morphology in patients suspected with lumbar degeneration with multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) as standard reference. METHODS: 22 subjects with concerned lumbar degeneration were recruited. All subjects were scanned with ZTE sequence after routine conventional MR sequences on a 3.0 T system and also received MSCT examination. Image quality was assessed. The quantitative and qualitative parameters of lumbar osseous morphology on MSCT, ZTE and MRI images were evaluated by three musculoskeletal radiologists independently. Inter-reader and inter-modality reliability and the difference between the modalities were calculated. RESULTS: There was no difference for the osseous parameters between modalities, including axial orientation (p = 0.444), IAD (p = 0.381), lateral recess (p = 0.370), pedicle width (p = 0.067), pedicle height (p = 0.056), and osteophyte grade (p = 0.052). The measurement of the foramina diameter was statistically different between conventional MRI and MSCT (p < 0.05) but not between the MSCT and ZTE (p = 0.660). Conventional MRI was more likely to miss cortical bone abnormalities. ZTE appeared blurrier in cortical bone than MSCT, especially in cases with severe lumbar degeneration. The inter-reader agreement between MSCT and ZTE-MRI was higher than between MSCT and conventional MRI. CONCLUSIONS: ZTE-MRI could offer more cortical bone details than conventional MRI images and might be a valid alternative to CT for lumbar osseous morphology assessment to some extent.
Authors: Lucas Wolharn; Roman Guggenberger; Kai Higashigaito; Thomas Sartoretti; Sebastian Winklhofer; Christine B Chung; Tim Finkenstaedt Journal: Skeletal Radiol Date: 2022-06-30 Impact factor: 2.128