High-Field Open versus Short-Bore Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Spine: A Randomized Controlled Comparison of Image Quality |
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Authors: | Judith Enders Matthias Rief Elke Zimmermann Patrick Asbach Gerd Diederichs Christoph Wetz Eberhard Siebert Moritz Wagner Bernd Hamm Marc Dewey |
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Institution: | Department of Radiology, Charité, Medical School, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.; Charité University Medicine Berlin, Germany, |
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Abstract: | BackgroundThe purpose of the present study was to compare the image quality of spinal magnetic resonance (MR) imaging performed on a high-field horizontal open versus a short-bore MR scanner in a randomized controlled study setup.MethodsAltogether, 93 (80% women, mean age 53) consecutive patients underwent spine imaging after random assignement to a 1-T horizontal open MR scanner with a vertical magnetic field or a 1.5-T short-bore MR scanner. This patient subset was part of a larger cohort. Image quality was assessed by determining qualitative parameters, signal-to-noise (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratios (CNR), and quantitative contour sharpness.ResultsThe image quality parameters were higher for short-bore MR imaging. Regarding all sequences, the relative differences were 39% for the mean overall qualitative image quality, 53% for the mean SNR values, and 34–37% for the quantitative contour sharpness (P<0.0001). The CNR values were also higher for images obtained with the short-bore MR scanner. No sequence was of very poor (nondiagnostic) image quality. Scanning times were significantly longer for examinations performed on the open MR scanner (mean: 32±22 min versus 20±9 min; P<0.0001).ConclusionsIn this randomized controlled comparison of spinal MR imaging with an open versus a short-bore scanner, short-bore MR imaging revealed considerably higher image quality with shorter scanning times.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov {"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT00715806","term_id":"NCT00715806"}}NCT00715806 |
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