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Comparative study of image quality between axial T2-weighted BLADE and turbo spin-echo MRI of the upper abdomen on 3.0 T

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Abstract

Objective

To compare image quality of turbo spin-echo (TSE) with BLADE [which is also named periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction (PROPELLER)] on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for upper abdomen.

Materials and methods

This study involved the retrospective evaluation of 103 patients (63 males, 40 females; age range 19–76 years; median age 53.8 years) who underwent 3.0 T MRI with both conventional TSE T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) and BLADE TSE T2WI. Two radiologists assessed respiratory motion, gastrointestinal peristalsis, and vascular pulsation artifacts, as well as the sharpness of the liver and pancreas edges. Scores for all magnetic resonance (MR) images were recorded. Wilcoxon’s rank test was used to compare hierarchical data. Cohen’s kappa coefficient was adopted to analyze interobserver consistency.

Results

Compared to TSE T2WI, BLADE TSE T2WI reduced all of the examined motion artifacts and increased the sharpness of the liver and pancreas edges (all P < 0.05). Medium to good interobserver consistency was obtained for evaluating these indicators. The scanning time of BLADE TSE T2WI was 4–16 s shorter than that of conventional TSE T2WI.

Conclusion

Compared to TSE sequence, the BLADE technique can reduce the respiratory motion, gastrointestinal peristalsis, and vascular pulsation artifacts, while decreasing the scanning time and improving the anatomic detail and image quality.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shandong Medical Imaging Research Institute, Shandong University, No. 324, Jingwu Road, Jinan, 250021, Shandong, China

    Lin Zhang

  2. Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of Binzhou Medical University, No. 661, Huanghe 2 Road, Binzhou, 256603, Shandong, China

    Lin Zhang, PeiYuan Wang, Liang Chen, XiJin Mao, ShanShan Wang, Xu Wang & JingMin Dong

  3. Department of Pediatrics, Affiliated Hospital of Binzhou Medical University, No. 661, Huanghe 2 Road, Binzhou, 256603, Shandong, China

    ChunMei Tian

  4. Binzhou Medical University, No. 346, Guanhai Road, Yantai, 264003, Shandong, China

    Bin Wang

Authors
  1. Lin Zhang
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  2. ChunMei Tian
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  3. PeiYuan Wang
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  4. Liang Chen
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  5. XiJin Mao
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  6. ShanShan Wang
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  7. Xu Wang
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  8. JingMin Dong
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  9. Bin Wang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bin Wang.

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Zhang, L., Tian, C., Wang, P. et al. Comparative study of image quality between axial T2-weighted BLADE and turbo spin-echo MRI of the upper abdomen on 3.0 T. Jpn J Radiol 33, 585–590 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11604-015-0463-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11604-015-0463-9

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