FAST FLUID-ATTENUATED INVERSION-RECOVERY (FLAIR) MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING OF THE BRAIN - A COMPARISON OF MULTISHOT ECHO-PLANAR AND FAST SPIN-ECHO TECHNIQUES

Purpose. To evaluate fast spin-echo and multi-shot echo-planar fluid-a ttenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) sequences in paediatric brain ima ging. Materials and methods. Matched images from 32 patients with susp ected tumour or white matter disease were independently evaluated by t wo paediatric neuroradiologists. The observer preferences for image qu ality and lesion detection were analysed for differences between fast spin-echo FLAIR and multi-shot echo-planar FLAIR. Diagnostic quality w as compared with that of fast spin-echo T2-weighted images. Results. I mages of a diagnostic qual ity equivalent to that of fast spin echo T2 -weighted images were achieved with both FLAIR techniques. Grey and wh ite matter differentiation and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) nulling were significantly better on fast spin-echo FLAIR sequences. CSF flow artef act was reduced on multi-shot echo-planar FLAIR. There was no differen ce in lesion detection. Fast spin-echo FLAIR images were visually pref erred at the expense of longer imaging time. Conclusion. Fast FLAIR te chniques are complementary to fast spin-echo T2-weighted sequences in imaging of the paediatric brain. We find that the fast spin-echo FLAIR sequence is preferable to the multi-shot echo-planar technique.