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High-resolution MRI of the wrist and finger joints in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: comparison of 1.5 Tesla and 3.0 Tesla

  • Musculoskeletal
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Abstract

The goal of this study was to compare magnetic resonance (MR) image quality at different field strengths for evaluating lesions in wrist and finger joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in order to determine whether the higher field strength provides diagnostic gain. The hand mainly affected in 17 RA patients was examined at 1.5 Tesla (T) and 3.0 T with comparable MR imaging (MRI) protocols. MR images were reviewed twice by two experienced radiologists using the Rheumatoid Arthritis MRI Scoring System (RAMRIS) of the OMERACT (Outcome Measures in Rheumatoid Arthritis Clinical Trials) group. Image quality was rated on a five-point scale using Friedmann’s test and Kendall’s W-test for statistical analysis. Image comparison revealed better image quality at higher field strength. Image quality of T1-weighted images was rated 14–22% better at 3.0 T compared with 1.5 T by both readers. Moreover, the rating for the T2-weighted-images acquired at 3.0 T was one point better in the five-point scale used. Inter-reader correlation for image quality, bone erosions/defects, edema and synovitis ranged between 0.6 and 0.9 at 3.0 T and between 0.6 and 0.8 at 1.5 T. Intra-reader correlation for these parameters was high at 0.8–1.0. MRI image quality of RA hands is superior at 3.0 T, while an acceptable image quality is achieved at 1.5 T, which improves the evaluation of extent of bone edema, synovitis and identification of small bone erosions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicin, Otto-von-Guericke-University, Leipziger Str. 44, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany

    Gero Wieners, Gero Wieners, Maciej Pech & Jens Ricke

  2. Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Charité Mitte, Schumannstr. 20/21, 10117, Berlin, Germany

    Jacqueline Detert, Gerd Burmester & Marina Backhaus

  3. Department of Radiology, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Virchow Klinikum, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353, Berlin, Germany

    Florian Streitparth, Frank Fischbach & Harald Bruhn

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  1. Gero Wieners
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  2. Jacqueline Detert
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  3. Florian Streitparth
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  4. Maciej Pech
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  5. Frank Fischbach
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  6. Gerd Burmester
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  7. Jens Ricke
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  8. Marina Backhaus
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  9. Harald Bruhn
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Correspondence to Gero Wieners.

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Wieners, G., Detert, J., Streitparth, F. et al. High-resolution MRI of the wrist and finger joints in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: comparison of 1.5 Tesla and 3.0 Tesla. Eur Radiol 17, 2176–2182 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-006-0539-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-006-0539-0

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