Fat-suppression techniques for 3-T MR imaging of the musculoskeletal system

Filippo Del Grande; Francesco Santini; Daniel A Herzka; Michael R Aro; Cooper W Dean; Garry E Gold; John A Carrino

doi:10.1148/rg.341135130

Fat-suppression techniques for 3-T MR imaging of the musculoskeletal system

Radiographics. 2014 Jan-Feb;34(1):217-33. doi: 10.1148/rg.341135130.

Authors

Filippo Del Grande¹, Francesco Santini, Daniel A Herzka, Michael R Aro, Cooper W Dean, Garry E Gold, John A Carrino

Affiliation

¹ From the Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Md (F.D.G., M.R.A., J.A.C.); Division of Radiological Physics, Department of Radiology, Clinic of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University of Basel Hospital, Basel, Switzerland (F.S.); Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md (D.A.H.); Department of Radiology, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Fla (C.W.D.); and Departments of Radiology, Bioengineering, and Orthopaedic Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, Calif (G.E.G.). Recipient of a Certificate of Merit award for an education exhibit at the 2012 RSNA Annual Meeting.

Abstract

Fat suppression is an important technique in musculoskeletal imaging to improve the visibility of bone-marrow lesions; evaluate fat in soft-tissue masses; optimize the contrast-to-noise ratio in magnetic resonance (MR) arthrography; better define lesions after administration of contrast material; and avoid chemical shift artifacts, primarily at 3-T MR imaging. High-field-strength (eg, 3-T) MR imaging has specific technical characteristics compared with lower-field-strength MR imaging that influence the use and outcome of various fat-suppression techniques. The most commonly used fat-suppression techniques for musculoskeletal 3-T MR imaging include chemical shift (spectral) selective (CHESS) fat saturation, inversion recovery pulse sequences (eg, short inversion time inversion recovery [STIR]), hybrid pulse sequences with spectral and inversion-recovery (eg, spectral adiabatic inversion recovery and spectral attenuated inversion recovery [SPAIR]), spatial-spectral pulse sequences (ie, water excitation), and the Dixon techniques. Understanding the different fat-suppression options allows radiologists to adopt the most appropriate technique for their clinical practice.

©RSNA, 2014.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Adipose Tissue / pathology*
Algorithms*
Artifacts*
Humans
Image Enhancement / methods*
Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / methods
Joint Diseases / pathology*
Joints / pathology*
Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods*
Reproducibility of Results
Sensitivity and Specificity

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding