Chemical shift MR imaging of the skin

MR imaging with conventional spin-echo pulse sequences has not found wide application in the evaluation of skin pathology. This paper reports that this study was designed to determine the value of chemical shift imaging (CSI) compared with conventional pulse sequences for the noninvasive evaluation of connective tissue and neoplastic disease of the skin and underlying fascia. The studies were acquired in patients and volunteers on a whole-body system at 1.5 T and small surface coils. Comparisons were made between T1- and T2-weighted gradient-echo, spin-echo, and hybrid lipid and water-suppressed CSI series (Chopper-Dixon combined with frequency-selective pulse). CSI improves detail in the hypodermis by eliminating unwanted (lipid) signal and chemical shift misregistration artifact. The detail of water-based signal is improved in the deeper layers of the skin by improved tissue contrast and elimination of the disturbing adjacent dominant fat-based signal. MR imaging has the potential to provide information that can complement skin biopsy. A more optimal choice of pulse sequences can improve the sensitivity of MR imaging to water-based pathology and allow noninvasive visualization of deep layers. The CSI sequences may be useful in the evaluation of infiltrative and neoplastic disease of the skin, particularly as they are adapted into microimaging methods with local gradient coils