Acceleration of uterine 3D T2 weighted imaging by compressed SENSE--a multicenter study.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To find the optimal acceleration factor (AF) of the compressed SENSE (CS) technique for uterine isotropic high-resolution 3D T2-weighted imaging (3D-ISO-T2WI). METHODS: A total of 91 female volunteers from the XXX, XXX and XXX were recruited. A total of 44 volunteers received uterus sagittal 3D-ISO-T2WI scans on 3.0 T MRI device with different CS AFs (including SENSE3, CS3, CS4, CS5, CS6, and CS7), 51 received 3D-ISO-T2WI scans with different degrees of fat suppression (none, light, moderate, and severe), while 4 volunteers received both series of scans. Image quality was subjectively evaluated with a three-point scoring system. Junction zone signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast to noise ratio (CNR) and myometrial SNR were also calculated. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were used to analyze the consistency of the measurement results by two observers. ANOVA test or Friedman rank sum test was used to compare the differences in subjective scores, SNR and CNR under different AFs/different degrees of fat suppression. RESULTS: Images by AFs of CS3, CS4, and CS5 had the highest SNR and CNR. Among them, CS5 had the shortest scan time. CS5 also had one of the highest subjective scores. There was no significant difference in SNR and CNR among images acquired with different degrees of fat suppression. Also, images with moderate fat suppression had the highest subjective scores. CONCLUSION: The CS5 combined with moderate fat suppression is recommended for routine female pelvic 3D-ISO-T2WI scan. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE The CS5 has the highest images quality and has the shortest scan time, which is the best AF. Moderate fat suppression has the highest subjective scores. The CS5 and moderate fat suppression are the best combination for female pelvic 3D-ISO-T2WI scan.