Contrast-enhanced 3D T1-weighted Gradient-echo Versus Spin-echo 3 Tesla MR Sequences in the Detection of Active Multiple Sclerosis Lesions

Gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is currently the imaging gold standard to detect active inflammatory lesions in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The sensitivity of enhanced MRI to detect active lesions may vary according to the acquisition strategy used (e.g., delay between injection and image acquisition, contrast dose, field strength, and frequency of MRI sampling). Selection of the most appropriate T1-weighted sequence after contrast injection may also influence sensitivity. Several clinical studies performed at 1.5 Tesla have shown that conventional 2D spin-echo (SE) sequences perform better than gradient recalled-echo (GRE) sequences for depicting active MS lesions after gadolinium injection. As relates to MS, 3.0 Tesla systems offer some advantages over lower field strengths, such as higher detection rates for T2 and gadolinium-enhancing brain lesions, an important capability for diagnosing and monitoring MS patients. Recent studies have shown that at 3 Tesla, 3D GRE or 3D fast SE sequences provide higher detection rates for gadolinium-enhancing MS lesions, especially smaller ones, than standard 2D SE, and better suppress artefacts related to vascular pulsation. However, the comparison of the performance of 3D GRE versus 3D SE sequences has not been investigated yet.

Objectives To compare the sensitivity of enhancing multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions in gadolinium-enhanced 3D T1-weighted gradient-echo (GRE) and turbo-spin-echo (TSE) sequences.