Value of short-TE three-dimensional FLASH after Gd-DOTA in the diagnosis of brain tumors

Twenty-five patients with intracranial tumors were preoperatively evaluated with three-dimensional fast low-angle shot (FLASH) and T1-weighted spin-echo (SE) imaging after injection of Gd-DOTA. The contrast resolution and diagnostic utility of the T1-weighted SE images were compared with that of the three-dimensional FLASH images (original acquisition or reconstruction). The contrast resolution of three-dimensional FLASH images was 20%-50% worse than that of the T1-weighted SE images. Nevertheless, the preoperative utility of three-dimensional FLASH imaging has been judged superior to T1-weighted SE imaging because the contrast resolution of three-dimensional FLASH imaging was sufficient to benefit from the use of numerous and very thin sections. Its capability to perform the reconstructions in other planes (especially the oblique reconstruction in the plane of surgical approach) was also very helpful in preoperative topographic evaluation