Comparison of lesion enhancement between BB Cube and 3D-SPGR images for brain tumors with 1.5-T magnetic resonance imaging

Abstract

Purpose

This study aimed to compare the detectability of neoplastic lesion enhancement after gadolinium-based contrast media injection in three-dimensional T1-weighted black blood Cube (3D-T1W BB Cube) and three-dimensional T1-weighted fast spoiled gradient-echo (3D-T1W fast SPGR) images obtained with 1.5-T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Materials and methods

Phantom and clinical studies were performed to compare the lesion detectability and contrast ratio (CR) between 3D-T1W BB Cube and 3D-T1W fast SPGR pulse sequences.

Results

In the phantom study, the CRs for 3D-T1W BB Cube and 3D-T1W fast SPGR were equivalent at low gadolinium concentrations (0.125–1.25 mmol/l). In the clinical study, the detectability in the two modalities was similar for enhanced lesions ≥5 mm, but was significantly better in 3D-T1W BB Cube for lesions <5 mm (p = 0.011). Similarly, the CRs in both modalities were similar for lesions ≥5 mm (0.66 ± 0.36 vs. 0.56 ± 0.30, p = 0.153), but significantly lower in 3D-T1W BB Cube images for lesions <5 mm (0.29 ± 0.19 vs. 0.39 ± 0.21, p = 0.006).

Conclusions

Contrast 3D-T1W BB Cube imaging appears more sensitive than 3D-T1W fast SPGR imaging for detecting neoplastic lesion enhancement in the clinical setting using a 1.5-T MRI scanner, particularly for lesions <5 mm in diameter.

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