On standard T2 weighted MR images, since both hepatic hemangiomas and cysts are typically hyperintense, the differentiation between these benign lesions cannot be made unless intravenous gadolinium is administered. On the other hand, if an appropriate null point is chosen, the signal of hepatic hemangiomas will be suppressed, but cysts will continue to appear hyperintense. In this study, the additive diagnostic value of “inversion recovery” single-shot fast spin-echo (IR-SSFSE) sequence using the inversion time (TI) of hepatic hemangioma as a supplement to standard T2 weighted...

A total of 130 lesions (82 hemangiomas, 48 cysts) were evaluated in this study. The study population consisted of 14 males and 19 females (total 33 patients) aged between 29-78 years (mean 50 years). The study was performed on 1.5 T MR unit using 12-channel body coil. In addition to routine hepatic MR imaging, IR-SSFSE imaging using TI value of 600 ms (null point for hepatic hemangiomas) was taken. The parameters of sequence are shown in table 1. TR (time to repeat) (ms) 6000 TE...

According to standard reference method, 82 hepatic hemangiomas and 48 hepatic cysts were evaluated (total 130 lesions) in 33 patients. The lesion diameter was 2-125 mm. The lesion diameter of the cysts was 2-38 mm (median= 6 mm), and that of the hemangiomas was 3-125 mm (median= 11 mm). When 3 scoring (1-3) was used, statistically significant interobserver correlation was found as κ=0.596; p<0.001. In the ROC analysis for the differentiation of hepatic hemangiomas from cysts, AUC was 0.748 for the first observer, and was...

When a hyperintense lesion is detected on standard T2 weighted images, addition of IR-SSFSE sequence is useful for distinguishing a hepatic hemangioma from a hepatic cyst. The sequence technique is based on different relaxation features of hemangiomas and water in cysts. If inversion time is chosen as 600 ms which represents the null point of longitudinal magnetization of hemangioma, the spin of protons from the hemangiomas do not contribute to the MR signal. Consequently, in patients who are unable to receive intravenous contrast media, in...

1. Katada Y, Yasumoto M, Ishii C, Tanaka H, Nakamoto K, Ohashi I, Nozaki M. Differentiation between hepatic haemangiomas and cysts with an inversion recovery single-shot turbo spin-echo (SSTSE) sequence using the TI nulling value of hepatic haemangioma with sensitivity encoding. .Eur Radiol 2010;20:2241-7. 2. Sasaki K, Ito K, Koike S, Fujita T, Okazaki H, Matsunaga N.Differentiation between hepatic cyst and hemangioma: additive value of breath-hold, multisection fluid-attenuated inversion-recovery magnetic resonance imaging using half-Fourier acquisition single-shot turbo-spin-echo sequence. J Magn Reson Imaging 2005;21:29-36. 3. Ohkawa...