Gd-DTPA-enhanced MPSPGR imaging of liver tumors

This paper reports on Gd-DTPA-enhanced ultrafast interleaved SPGR (MPSPGR) breath-hold imaging of hepatic tumors which was evaluated and compared with standard spin-echo (SE) imaging. Twenty-two patients with hepatic tumors were imaged on a GE Signa imager. Unenhanced T1- and T2-weighted SE images and pre- and postcontrast, breath-hold MPSPGR images were obtained as 10-mm-thick, contiguous sections. For MPSPGR, 60 degrees flip angle and 110-147/2.3 were used. Contrast-to-noise ratios (C/Ns) for tumor/liver were calculated for all sequences. The C/Ns for the pre- and 1-minute post-Gd-DTPA-enhanced MPSPGR images were superior when compared with those of T1-weighted images in 15/21 patients and 17/22 patients, respectively, but only in 8/22 and 13/22 when compared with T2-weighted images. Tumor margins were more clearly defined in the breath-hold MPSPGR images due to reduced motion blurring and tumor-lesion boundaries becoming conspicuous after contrast material enhancement