"skipMainNavigation"
closeDrawerMenuopenDrawerMenu
Search
Quick Search in Journals
Quick Search anywhere
Advanced Search
Radiology
Menu
  • Information
    • Previous
    Next
    Original Research

    Comparison of Three-dimensional Isotropic T1-weighted Fast Spin-Echo MR Arthrography with Two-dimensional MR Arthrography of the Shoulder

    Published Online:Mar 1 2012https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.11111261

    Abstract

    Three-dimensional isotropic T1-weighted fast spin-echo imaging may yield diagnostic performance comparable with that of conventional two-dimensional MR arthrography in the diagnosis of rotator cuff tears and labral abnormalities with a faster imaging time.

    Purpose

    To determine the accuracy of a three-dimensional (3D) isotropic T1-weighted fast spin-echo (FSE) magnetic resonance (MR) sequence as compared with a conventional two-dimensional (2D) sequence in the diagnosis of rotator cuff tears and labral lesions.

    Materials and Methods

    Institutional review board approval was obtained, and the informed consent requirement was waived. Forty-nine patients who had undergone direct or indirect shoulder MR arthrography with the 2D T1-weighted FSE sequence and the 3D isotropic T1-weighted FSE sequence and subsequent arthroscopy were included. Each MR imaging sequence was independently scored by two readers retrospectively for the presence of full- or partial-thickness tears of the supraspinatus (SST) and infraspinatus (IST) tendons and the subscapularis tendon (SCT) and labral lesions. Diagnostic performance based on each sequence type was compared by using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC).

    Results

    Arthroscopic findings enabled confirmation of the presence of 17 full-thickness SST-IST tears, 18 partial-thickness SST-IST tears, four full-thickness SCT tears, 17 partial-thickness SCT tears, and 17 labral lesions. The AUCs for the readers using the 3D T1-weighted FSE sequence versus those obtained with the 2D sequence were 0.771–0.989 versus 0.837–0.998 for reader A and 0.771–0.989 versus 0.797–0.989 for reader B in the detection of rotator cuff tears and 0.885 versus 0.897 for reader A and 0.895 versus 0.895 for reader B in the detection of labral lesions. The mean AUCs between the 2D and 3D sequences were not significantly different, with the exception of partial-thickness SCT tears for one reader.

    Conclusion

    The accuracy of 3D isotropic FSE MR arthrography may be comparable with that of conventional 2D MR arthrography in the diagnosis of rotator cuff tears and labral lesions with a shorter imaging time.

    © RSNA, 2012

    References

    • 1 Gold GE, Busse RF, Beehler C, et al.. Isotropic MRI of the knee with 3D fast spin-echo extended echo-train acquisition (XETA): initial experience. AJR Am J Roentgenol 2007;188(5):1287–1293. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 2 Yao L, Pitts JT, Thomasson D. Isotropic 3D fast spin-echo with proton-density-like contrast: a comprehensive approach to musculoskeletal MRI. AJR Am J Roentgenol 2007;188(2):W199–W201. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 3 Stevens KJ, Busse RF, Han E, et al.. Ankle: isotropic MR imaging with 3D-FSE-cube—initial experience in healthy volunteers. Radiology 2008;249(3):1026–1033. Link, Google Scholar
    • 4 Jung JY, Yoon YC, Choi SH, Kwon JW, Yoo J, Choe BK. Three-dimensional isotropic shoulder MR arthrography: comparison with two-dimensional MR arthrography for the diagnosis of labral lesions at 3.0 T. Radiology 2009;250(2):498–505. Link, Google Scholar
    • 5 Jung JY, Yoon YC, Kwon JW, Ahn JH, Choe BK. Diagnosis of internal derangement of the knee at 3.0-T MR imaging: 3D isotropic intermediate-weighted versus 2D sequences. Radiology 2009;253(3):780–787. Link, Google Scholar
    • 6 Kijowski R, Davis KW, Woods MA, et al.. Knee joint: comprehensive assessment with 3D isotropic resolution fast spin-echo MR imaging—diagnostic performance compared with that of conventional MR imaging at 3.0 T. Radiology 2009;252(2):486–495. Link, Google Scholar
    • 7 Notohamiprodjo M, Horng A, Pietschmann MF, et al.. MRI of the knee at 3T: first clinical results with an isotropic PDfs-weighted 3D-TSE-sequence. Invest Radiol 2009;44(9):585–597. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 8 Magee T. Can isotropic fast gradient echo imaging be substituted for conventional T1 weighted sequences in shoulder MR arthrography at 3 Tesla? J Magn Reson Imaging 2007;26(1):118–122. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 9 Oh DK, Yoon YC, Kwon JW, et al.. Comparison of indirect isotropic MR arthrography and conventional MR arthrography of labral lesions and rotator cuff tears: a prospective study. AJR Am J Roentgenol 2009;192(2):473–479. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 10 Torstensen ET, Hollinshead RM. Comparison of magnetic resonance imaging and arthroscopy in the evaluation of shoulder pathology. J Shoulder Elbow Surg 1999;8(1):42–45. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 11 Pfirrmann CW, Zanetti M, Weishaupt D, Gerber C, Hodler J. Subscapularis tendon tears: detection and grading at MR arthrography. Radiology 1999;213(3):709–714. Link, Google Scholar
    • 12 Chang D, Mohana-Borges A, Borso M, Chung CB. SLAP lesions: anatomy, clinical presentation, MR imaging diagnosis and characterization. Eur J Radiol 2008;68(1):72–87. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 13 Maffet MW, Gartsman GM, Moseley B. Superior labrum-biceps tendon complex lesions of the shoulder. Am J Sports Med 1995;23(1):93–98. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 14 Hoenig JM, Heisey DM. The abuse of power. Am Stat 2001;55(1):19–24. Crossref, Google Scholar
    • 15 Colegrave N, Ruxton GD. Confidence intervals are a more useful complement to nonsignificant tests than are power calculations. Behav Ecol 2003;14(3):446–450. Crossref, Google Scholar
    • 16 Ellman H. Diagnosis and treatment of incomplete rotator cuff tears. Clin Orthop Relat Res 1990;(254):64–74. Medline, Google Scholar
    • 17 Yuan C, Schmiedl UP, Weinberger E, Krueck WR, Rand SD. Three-dimensional fast spin-echo imaging: pulse sequence and in vivo image evaluation. J Magn Reson Imaging 1993;3(6):894–899. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 18 Zhou X, Cofer GP, Suddarth SA, Johnson GA. High-field MR microscopy using fast spin-echoes. Magn Reson Med 1993;30(1):60–67. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 19 Busse RF, Hariharan H, Vu A, Brittain JH. Fast spin echo sequences with very long echo trains: design of variable refocusing flip angle schedules and generation of clinical T2 contrast. Magn Reson Med 2006;55(5):1030–1037. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 20 Wang Z, Fernández-Seara MA. 2D partially parallel imaging with k-space surrounding neighbors-based data reconstruction. Magn Reson Med 2006;56(6):1389–1396. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 21 Qiao Y, Steinman DA, Qin Q, et al.. Intracranial arterial wall imaging using three-dimensional high isotropic resolution black blood MRI at 3.0 Tesla. J Magn Reson Imaging 2011;34(1):22–30. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 22 Mugler JP, Bao S, Mulkern RV, et al.. Optimized single-slab three-dimensional spin-echo MR imaging of the brain. Radiology 2000;216(3):891–899. Link, Google Scholar
    • 23 Kim H, Lim JS, Choi JY, et al.. Rectal cancer: comparison of accuracy of local-regional staging with two- and three-dimensional preoperative 3-T MR imaging. Radiology 2010;254(2):485–492. Link, Google Scholar
    • 24 Rosenkrantz AB, Neil J, Kong X, et al.. Prostate cancer: Comparison of 3D T2-weighted with conventional 2D T2-weighted imaging for image quality and tumor detection. AJR Am J Roentgenol 2010;194(2):446–452. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 25 David TS, Bravo H, Scobercea R. Arthroscopic visualization of subscapularis tendon lesions. Orthopedics 2009;32(9). Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 26 Koo SS, Burkhart SS. Subscapularis tendon tears: identifying mid to distal footprint disruptions. Arthroscopy 2010;26(8):1130–1134. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 27 Chen CA, Kijowski R, Shapiro LM, et al.. Cartilage morphology at 3.0T: assessment of three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging techniques. J Magn Reson Imaging 2010;32(1):173–183. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 28 Eng J. Sample size estimation: how many individuals should be studied? Radiology 2003;227(2):309–313. Link, Google Scholar
    • 29 Penington A. Negative results and the limitations of power. ANZ J Surg 2008;78(1-2):99–102. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 30 Sasyniuk TM, Mohtadi NGH, Hollinshead RM, Russell ML, Fick GH. The inter-rater reliability of shoulder arthroscopy. Arthroscopy 2007;23(9):971–977. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar
    • 31 Polster JM, Schickendantz MS. Shoulder MRI: what do we miss? AJR Am J Roentgenol 2010;195(3):577–584. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar

    Article History

    Received June 16, 2011; revision requested July 23; revision received August 23; accepted August 30; final version accepted September 21.
    Published online: Mar 2012
    Published in print: Mar 2012