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GRASE Revisited: breath-hold three-dimensional (3D) magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography using a Gradient and Spin Echo (GRASE) technique at 3T

  • Magnetic Resonance
  • Published:
European Radiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

An Editorial Comment to this article was published on 21 June 2018

Abstract

Objective

To evaluate the clinical feasibility and image quality of breath-hold (BH) three-dimensional (3D) magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) using a gradient and spin-echo (GRASE) technique compared to the conventional 3D respiratory-triggered (RT)-MRCP using a turbo spin-echo (TSE) sequence at 3 T.

Methods

Sixty-six patients underwent both 3D RT-TSE-MRCP and 3D BH-GRASE-MRCP at 3 T. Three radiologists independently reviewed the visualisation of biliary and pancreatic ducts, image blurring, and overall image quality of the two data sets using four- or five-point scales. The numbers of scans with non-diagnostic or poor image quality were compared between the two scans.

Results

The 3D BH-GRASE-MRCP had a significantly better image quality (3.69 ± 0.77 vs. 3.30 ± 1.18, p = 0.005) and less image blurring (3.23 ± 0.94 vs. 3.65 ± 0.57, p = 0.0003) than the 3D RT-TSE-MRCP. In detail, 3D BH-GRASE-MRCP better depicted the common bile duct, cystic duct, and bilateral first intrahepatic duct (all ps < 0.05). The number of scans with non-diagnostic or poor image quality significantly decreased with 3D BH-GRASE-MRCP compared with 3D RT-TSE-MRCP [19.7% (13/66) vs. 1.5% (1/66), p = 0.002].

Conclusion

The 3D BH-GRASE-MRCP provided better image quality and a reduced number of non-diagnostic images compared to 3D RT-TSE-MRCP.

Key points

• The GRASE technique enabled 3D MRCP acquisition within a single breath-hold.

• The short acquisition time of 3D BH-GRASE-MRCP significantly reduced image blurring.

• The 3D BH-GRASE-MRCP had a better image quality than 3D RT-TSE-MRCP.

• The number of non-diagnostic scans was reduced with 3D BH-GRASE-MRCP.

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Abbreviations

BH:

Breath-Hold

CBD:

Common Bile Duct

EPI:

Echo Planar Imaging

FOV:

Field of View

GRASE:

Gradient and Spin Echo

IHD:

Intrahepatic Duct

MRCP:

Magnetic Resonance Cholangiopancreatography

RT:

Respiratory-Triggered

TSE:

Turbo Spin-Echo

SNR:

Signal-to-Noise Ratio

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Funding

The authors state that this work has not received any funding.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology and Institute of Radiation Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, 101 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 03080, Republic of Korea

    Ju Gang Nam, Jeong Min Lee, Hyo-Jin Kang & Jeong Hee Yoon

  2. College of Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, 101 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 03080, Republic of Korea

    Ju Gang Nam, Jeong Min Lee, Hyo-Jin Kang & Jeong Hee Yoon

  3. Institute of Radiation Medicine, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, 103 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 03087, Republic of Korea

    Jeong Min Lee

  4. Radiology, Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, Gyeonggi-do, 14068, Korea

    Sang Min Lee

  5. Philips Healthcare Korea, Seoul, 04637, Republic of Korea

    Eunju Kim

  6. Philips MR Clinical Science, Best, The Netherlands

    Johannes M. Peeters

Authors
  1. Ju Gang Nam
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jeong Hee Yoon.

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Guarantor

The scientific guarantor of this publication is Jeong Hee Yoon.

Conflict of interest

Two authors (E. Kim, J. Peeters) are employees of Philips Healthcare. Other authors of this manuscript declare no relationships with any companies, whose products or services may be related to the subject matter of the article.

Statistics and biometry

No complex statistical methods were necessary for this paper.

Informed consent

Written informed consent was waived by the Institutional Review Board.

Ethical approval

Seoul National University Hospital Institutional Review Board approval was obtained.

Methodology

• retrospective

• case-control study

• performed at one institution

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Nam, J.G., Lee, J.M., Kang, HJ. et al. GRASE Revisited: breath-hold three-dimensional (3D) magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography using a Gradient and Spin Echo (GRASE) technique at 3T. Eur Radiol 28, 3721–3728 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-017-5275-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-017-5275-0

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