Dual-phase chemical-shift imaging in the detection of diffuse bone metastasis

Preliminary studies were performed to evaluate the usefulness of lumbar bone marrow MRI using the dual chemical-shift gradient echo (GRE) sequence in the detection of diffuse bone metastasis. Two GRE images (echo time (TE)=2.3 msec and 4.6 msec) were obtained, and signal intensity ratio (SIR) was calculated. SIR was designated as the ratio of in-phase to out-of-phase signal intensity. Among 45 patients with suspicious lumbar bone metastases, diffuse bone metastases were present in 7. Mean SIRs were compared by unpaired t-test. SIRs of diffuse bone metastases had significantly higher signal intensities than those of non-diffuse bone metastases of vertebrae (p<0.01). (author)