Synthetic T 2 -weighted images of the lumbar spine derived from an accelerated T 2 mapping sequence: Comparison to conventional T 2 w turbo spin echo

• Published in: Magnetic resonance imaging 2021-12, Vol.84, p.92
• Main Authors: Raudner, Marcus, Toth, Daniel F, Schreiner, Markus M, Hilbert, Tom, Kober, Tobias, Juras, Vladimir, Windhager, Reinhard, Trattnig, Siegfried
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Female; Humans; Intervertebral Disc - diagnostic imaging; Intervertebral Disc Degeneration - diagnostic imaging; Intervertebral Disc Displacement - diagnostic imaging; Lumbar Vertebrae - diagnostic imaging; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1873-5894
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mri.2021.09.011

To evaluate the diagnostic usefulness of synthetic T -weighted images of the lumbar spine derived from ten-fold undersampled k-space data using GRAPPATINI, a combination of a model-based approach for rapid T and M quantification (MARTINI) extended by generalized autocalibrating partial parallel acquistion (GRAPPA). Overall, 58 individuals (26 female, mean age 23.3 ± 8.1 years) were examined at 3 Tesla with sagittal and axial T w turbo spin echo (TSE) sequences compared to synthetic T weighted contrasts derived at identical effective echo times and spatial resolutions. Two blinded readers graded disk degeneration and evaluated the lumbar intervertebral disks for present herniation or annular tear. One reader reassessed all studies after four weeks. Weighted kappa statistics were calculated to assess inter-rater and intra-rater agreement. Also, all studies were segmented manually by one reader to compute contrast ratios (CR) and contrast-to-noise ratios (CNR) of the nucleus pulposus and the annulus fibrosus. Overall, the CR was 4.45 ± 1.80 and CR was 4.71 ± 2.14. Both correlated (rsp = 0.768;p