T2-WEIGHTED MR-IMAGING OF THE CHEST - COMPARISON OF ELECTROCARDIOGRAPH-TRIGGERED CONVENTIONAL AND TURBO SPIN-ECHO AND NONTRIGGERED TURBO SPIN-ECHO SEQUENCES

In 22 patients with a diverse range of thoracic abnormalities, T2-weig hted magnetic resonance (MR) images of the chest were obtained with el ectrocardiograph (ECG)-triggered turbo spin-echo (TSE), ECG-triggered conventional spin-echo (CSE), and nontriggered TSE sequences, and the images were compared. A 5-point rating scale was used by three radiolo gists experienced in MR imaging of the chest to independently evaluate the images for (a) freedom from ghosting, (b) clarity of heart wall a nd cardiac chambers, (c) clarity of mediastinal structures, (d) conspi cuity of abnormalities, and (e) overall image quality. Evaluations wer e analyzed with statistical methods. For freedom from ghosting, clarit y of heart wall and cardiac chambers, clarity of mediastinal structure s, and overall image quality, the ECG-triggered TSE images were rated higher than the TSE images, which, in turn, were rated higher than the ECG-triggered CSE images at the P = .05 level of significance. No sig nificant differences were seen between the pulse sequences in the cons picuity of abnormalities, although some differences were observed in i ndividual cases. Our results suggest that ECG-triggered TSE imaging pr ovides improved, time-efficient T2-weighted images of the chest.