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Increased signal intensity of low-concentration gadolinium contrast agent by longer repetition time in heavily T2-weighted-3D-FLAIR

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Abstract

Purpose

To apply for detecting low-concentration gadolinium contrast agent (Gd), such as those in the perilymph and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) at 4 h after intravenous administrations (IV), we tried to clarify the degree of increased signal intensity (SI) of low-concentration Gd by longer repetition time (TR) in heavily T2-weighed 3D-FLAIR.

Materials and methods

A phantom was designed using Gd diluted with saline at 0.250–0.008 mM and obtained images by varying the TR from 9000 to 16,000. We measured the SI of five slices for each concentration and compared the mean SI (SImean) values. Normalized SI (SInorm) values, defined as the SImean value of each TR divided by the SImean value of 9000-ms TR for each concentration were compared.

Results

Longer TR increased the SImean values in all solutions. In the 0.250 mM solution, the SImean value of 16,000-ms TR was 1.07-times greater than that of 9000-ms TR. In contrast, the SImean value of 16,000-ms TR was 1.67-times greater than that of 9000-ms TR in 0.008 mM solution.

Conclusion

SI increased with longer TR and lower Gd concentration. Thus, longer TR was useful in detecting low-concentration Gd, such as those in the perilymph and CSF at 4 h after IV.

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Correspondence to Yutaka Kato.

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Kato, Y., Bokura, K., Taoka, T. et al. Increased signal intensity of low-concentration gadolinium contrast agent by longer repetition time in heavily T2-weighted-3D-FLAIR. Jpn J Radiol 37, 431–435 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11604-019-00828-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11604-019-00828-0

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